04 October 2014 – Twenty (20) Filipino instructors have been dispatched to 10 host schools in nine districts around Korea as part of an annual teacher-exchange program between the Philippines and South Korea, the Philippine Embassy in Seoul said on September 23.
The exchange program is funded by South Korea’s Ministry of Education (MOE) for the third straight year.
The public school teachers from Metro Manila are participating in the 2014 Asia-Pacific Teacher Exchange for Global Education (APTE), including 15 teachers from Indonesia and 12 from Malaysia, all of whom undertook six days of lectures, workshops and meetings to prepare themselves for the program after arriving in South Korea on September 11.
In the APTE welcoming ceremony held on September 16, MOE Educational Supervisor Suh Dongho underscored the role of the participants from the three Southeast Asian countries in fostering global citizens in the emerging multicultural societies of the Asia and Pacific region.
Representing Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez, the Philippine Embassy’s education officer, First Secretary and Consul Roderico C. Atienza thanked the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) for organizing the APTE, in particular the Korea-Philippines Teacher Exchange Programme, which is now on its third year.
“As an education power, Korea has many lessons it can impart to Southeast Asia. However, as educators, all of you know quite well that learning is a two-way street; you, too, have a lot to teach to Korean children who may take for granted Korea’s own developmental experience,” Mr. Atienza said in his greetings to the 47 exchange teachers.
Hanyang University Professor Bae Gidong, who chairs the APCEIU Governing Board, also addressed the participants, telling some 40 principals and mentor teachers from 24 Korean host schools the importance of their guidance and assistance to the success of the program.
Reply speeches were given by Ms. Jeanette Job-Coroza, Regional Coordinator for Special Program for Foreign Languages of the Department of Education National Capital Region Office (DepEd-NCR), and Mr. Agus Rachman, Head of the Sub Division of Competency Improvement for Early Year Education Teacher at Indonesia’s Ministry of Education and Culture.
The 16 female and four male Filipino teachers will teach various subjects such as History, Social Science, English, Math, Music, Science, and Art at 10 primary and secondary schools in the cities of Seoul, Daegu, and Incheon, as well as the provinces of Gyeonggi, South Chungcheong, South Jeolla, North and South Gyeongsang and Jeju until late November.
With experience ranging from four to 30 years, the teachers are affiliated with the following elementary (ES) and high schools (HS):Parañaque National HS, MB Asistio Senior HS, Marikina Heights HS, San Francisco HS, Kaligayan ES, Kamuning ES, Wawang Pulo ES, Catmon Integrated School, Melencio M. Castelo ES, San Joaquin-Kalawaan HS, and Sagad HS.
As part of the exchange program, 20 Korean teachers have been placed in 10 public primary and secondary schools around Metro Manila to teach computers, physical education, music, Korean, business information, home economics and English from September until December 2014, including weeklong local adjustment training at DepEd-NCR.
The 20 Korean teachers bound for the Philippines were given a send-off on August 11, together with 25 Korean teachers bound for Mongolia at the Pre-departure Training for Korea-Mongolia, Philippines Teacher Exchange Programme by APCEIU officials and staff led by Director Chung Utak.
Since APCEIU started organizing the Korea-Philippines Teacher Exchange Program in 2012 as part of its APTE program under the MOE’s direction to enhance global competence of participating teachers and schools, about 100 Korean and Filipino teachers have participated in the exchange, with 70 schools hosting them.
Established in 2000 by an Agreement between the United Nations Educational, Sicentific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Government of the Republic of Korea, APCEIU has tasked itself to fulfill UNESCO’s mandate through various programmes of Education for International Understanding and Global Citizenship Education. END