ASEAN Education Ministers meet in Hanoi to realise post-pandemic priorities

The meeting chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son was attended by ASEAN education ministers, representatives of the Secretariat of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and the Director of the ASEAN University Network (AUN).

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to every aspect of life, including education, over the past two years. More than 35 million students of all grades in Southeast Asia have not been able to attend school for the past nearly two years, exerting a very negative impact on their physical, mental and academic activities.

The consequences will be more serious unless we act together, act more strongly and act now, he said.

He expressed his belief that ASEAN education leaders will put forward and implement effective policies to restore and maintain continuity of learning activities in the immediate future and to respond to future challenges in the medium and long term in order to build resilient education systems.

In his opening remarks, Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son pointed out despite the difficulties, ASEAN countries have managed to overcome unprecedented shocks to education, in order to minimize the adverse impact of the pandemic.

For this reason, he said Vietnam, as Chair of ASEAN Education for 2022-2023, has outlined five priority areas during its term, focusing on (i) taking care and protecting learners’ mental health, (ii) strengthening education on environmental protection and climate change, (iii) ensuring equitable and quality access to education for learners, especially disadvantaged groups, (iv) promoting comprehensive digital transformation and ensure cyber safety for learners, and (v) promoting innovation in higher education to meet development requirements.

These priorities are in line with what United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres mentioned at a Transforming Education Summit in New York in September 2022, Son said.

According to the minister, ASEAN countries have over the past year gradually taken action to realise those priorities, including hosting an education conference on learning restoration, publishing guidelines on education resilience and adaptation, releasing a joint statement on digital transformation of education systems, and building a roadmap for the ASEAN Higher Education Space 2025.

Vietnam will do its best to realize the major priorities and directions of ASEAN Education in the coming time, he assured.

Delegates discussed education - training in each country, and shared practical experiences in reopening schools in the post-pandemic period. They also reviewed the implementation of activities within the framework of the ASEAN Work Plan on Education for 2021-2025.

They agreed on the necessity of safely reopening schools and keeping schools open, overcoming knowledge loss and increasing the resilience of the education systems in ASEAN and member states against future pandemics, disasters and emergencies. They also stressed the need to digitally transform education systems in ASEAN and to ensure the mental health and well-being of stakeholders in ASEAN-wide education.

On October 14, Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son will chair the sixth ASEAN Plus Three Education Ministers Meeting APT EMM (ASEAN with partners from the Republic of Korea, Japan, and China) and the sixth East Asia Education Ministers Summit (including ASEAN+3 and their partners of the US, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and India).