30 September 2014 – Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, FSC headed the Philippine delegation in the 8th ASEAN Education (ASED) Ministers Meeting and Related Meetings held from September 09 to 12 at the Don Chan Palace Hotel in Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Education Undersecretary Alberto Muyot, Undersecretary Mario Derequito, Assistant Secretary Jesus Mateo and Ms. Ena Luga comprised the Philippine delegation.
The meeting discussed the formulation of the post-2015 ASEAN Work Plan on Education from 2016 to 2020, and also tackled preparations for the role of the education sector in the establishment of the ASEAN Community by 2015. The participants stressed the significance of developing the education sector as well as human resources in all ASEAN member states, as this reaffirms ASEAN’s commitment to enhance cooperation in education aimed at narrowing development gaps within the region.
During the meeting, the “ASEAN State of Education 2013” was also launched. The report, which was funded by the European Union (EU), provided comprehensive background and information on the state of primary, secondary, and tertiary education in ASEAN countries.
After the ASED meetings, the ASEAN Ministers attended a Strategic Dialogue among Education Ministers (SDEM) on September 13. The dialogue, which was hosted by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, discussed post-2015 education scenarios in ASEAN countries, the ASEAN education agenda, as well as other related global and regional initiatives in the education sector. END