SEAMEO-TTF- UNESCO IITE Launched Action Agenda to Improve Competencies of Teachers and Learners in Disadvantaged Areas




 

30 July 2021 - SEAMEO, International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (TTF), and UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE) joined hands to develop the Action Agenda for Improving Teacher Competencies at the virtual 2021 High-Level Forum on Teacher Competencies in the Digital Revolution: Reaching the Unreached.

 


Dr Carlos Vargas Tamez (Left), 
Head of UNESCO Section of Teacher Development and the Secretariat of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (TTF), France and
Mr Tao Zhan (Right),
Director, UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, Russia.

 

To address the enormous challenges of teachers and school heads during the COVID-19 pandemic, the collaborative High-Level Forum aimed to examine the solutions to ensure learning continuity; discuss national and regional solutions to address the barriers to inclusive education and the digital divide; share innovations during the pandemic in promoting learning continuity in disadvantaged schools that ccould be replicated or scaled up; and, discuss policy reforms to enhance teacher competencies in the digital age.

The virtual forum was participated by over 3,000 participants in the SEAMEO Youtube Live Channel, consisting of High Officials from Ministries of Education,   and teachers from Southeast Asian countries and member countries of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030.

The forum highlighted sharing of experiences and best practices in three themes: 1) Teachers ICT Competencies during Emergency: Lessons from the Pandemic, 2) ICT Support for Teachers and Learners in Disadvantaged Context, and 3) Remote Education and Learning Continuity Models.  

Over 15 invited speakers of the Forum included policy makers and experts from SEAMEO Member Countries, SEAMEO Associate Member Countries,  Affiliate Members, SEAMEO Regional Centres, and TTF Member Countries such as Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Kingdom of Morocco, Bhutan, China, France, Japan, Norway, and Russia.

 


Keynote Message by Mr Sng Chern Wei,
Deputy Director General of
Education (Curriculum), Ministry of Education, Singapore

 


Dr Ethel Agnes P Valenzuela,
Director of SEAMEO Secretariat announced the Action Agenda.

 


Clsoing Remarks by Undersecretary Alain del Pascua,
 Department of Education, Philippines

 

The key output of this event was the Action Agenda that calls for cooperation among the TTF Member Countries, SEAMEO Member Countries, and partner organisations in the following key areas with the aims to prepare the teachers and learners amidst uncertainties and challenges:

  1. Investing in teacher’s capacity building and professional development in areas of distance learning and digital technologies in education;
  2. Supporting the teacher workforce especially those assigned to the most difficult and remote areas by promoting relevant support, training and incentives, for them to fulfil their duties and functions;
  3. Creating a policy environment for teacher well-being, motivation, and support, especially in the most disadvantaged contexts and during this time of pandemic; and
  4. Providing access to hybrid and distance learning programmes to enhance teacher competencies in the digital era.

The forum  also provided participants with a collection of good teaching practices of new normal pedagogies, innovation for reaching the disadvantaged, as well as a collection of Open Educational Resources on Teaching Tools for the marginalized learners.

To View the Session by YouTube:  
https://link.seameo.org/webinar/HighLevelForum2021

More Information:
https://www.seameo.org/Main_programme/283