1. The Fourth ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting (4th ASED) was convened on 5 April 2009 in conjunction with the 44th SEAMEO Council Conference.
2. The Meeting welcomed the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter on 15 December 2008. The Ministers also welcomed the adoption of the Blueprints for the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) by the ASEAN Leaders at their 14th Summit on 28 February – 1 March 2009 in Cha-am Hua Hin, Thailand, following the adoption of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint at the 13th ASEAN Summit on 20 November 2007 in Singapore. The Ministers were pleased with the signing of the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) on Medical Practitioners and on Dental Practitioners and the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement Framework on Accountancy Services. These MRAs would facilitate mutual recognition of skills and certificates towards freer movement of skilled
workers and professionals in the region.
3. The Ministers welcomed the decision of the ASEAN Leaders for the ASEAN Secretariat to develop an ASEAN roadmap to support the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) following the Joint Declaration on the Attainment of the MDGs in ASEAN which was adopted at the 14th ASEAN Summit. The ASEAN roadmap would take into account the progress of attaining the Education For All (EFA) Goals by 2015 in ASEAN Member States.
4. The Ministers agreed that a 5-year work plan should be developed to guide the ASEAN Senior Officials on Education (SOM-ED) in strengthening, deepening and widening educational cooperation within ASEAN and with the Plus Three Countries, the East Asia Summit (EAS) Countries and other ASEAN Dialogue Partners. The Ministers tasked the ASEAN Secretariat, in close collaboration with the AUN and SEAMEO Secretariats, to formulate the work plan that would align the achievements and efforts of ASEAN Member States in education under the ASEAN and SEAMEO frameworks.
5. The Ministers took note of the recommendations of the First Regional Seminar on “Strengthening Cooperation on Education to Achieve ASEAN Caring and Sharing Community” on 23-25 February 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand, on concrete and doable actions to strengthen the role of educational sector in political, economic and socio-cultural pillars of the ASEAN Community.
6. Noting the call of the Second East Asia Summit (EAS) in January 2007 in Cebu, Philippines, for a strengthened regional educational cooperation, the Ministers supported the decision of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Education to explore with other EAS Countries, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and New Zealand, how to harness educational cooperation among the EAS Countries for regional competitiveness and community building. Towards this end, a regional study had been commenced to identify the existing educational resources and cooperation, bilaterally and regionally, and their complementarities in the EAS region.
7. Given the significance of educational cooperation as one of the priorities of the ASEAN Plus Three cooperation under the Second Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation and ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan (2007-2017), the Ministers supported the decision of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Education to establish an ad-hoc working group to look into the feasibility and modalities of a formal mechanism of educational cooperation with the Plus Three Countries. The Ministers supported the ASEAN Plus Three educational priorities to support the acceleration of learning opportunities for out-of-school children and youth; upgrading the quality of educational institutions and teachers; promotion of networking, credit transfers between universities, research activities and exchanges of scholars; and to cultivate an East Asian identity through promotion of ASEAN Studies and East Asian Studies.
8. The Ministers were pleased to note that the Presidents and representatives of thirty one universities from the ASEAN Plus Three Countries agreed at the ASEAN Plus Three Higher Education Policy Dialogue on 21-22 March 2009 in Phuket to establish a network and meet regularly to foster joint collaboration, research and development and promote greater mobility of students and faculty members. The First ASEAN Plus Three Rectors’ Conference will be held at Peking University in 2010.
9. The Ministers were pleased with the progress of the assessment on ASEAN-related content in primary and secondary school curricula and instructional materials of ASEAN Member States to serve as a first-step toward developing a common curriculum framework that will promote greater awareness of ASEAN and strengthen the ASEAN regional identity among children and youth in the region. This assessment showed possibilities for a more concerted approach toward regional coordination in ASEAN-related education at primary and secondary levels. The Ministers tasked the ASEAN Secretariat to engage relevant stakeholders and established institutions, including the SEAMEO Regional Centres, in moving forward the Project.
10. The Ministers noted with appreciation the progress of the ASEAN Primary School Sport Olympiad (APSSO) initiated and led by Indonesia since 2007 in sport disciplines of athletics, football, chess, badminton and table tennis. APSSO was regarded as an excellent platform to promote ASEAN awareness, strengthen regional solidarity and build friendships among children in the region. The Ministers welcomed Indonesia’s offer to host the 3rd APSSO in 2009 and tasked the ASEAN Senior Officials on Education, with the support of the ASEAN Secretariat, to look into the mechanism and guideline of the hosting rotation of APSSO amongst ASEAN Member States as proposed by Indonesia.
11. The Ministers took note on the activities of the Southeast Asia School Principal Forum (SEASPF) presented by Indonesia.
12. The Ministers had no objection to the proposed amendments to the ASEAN University Network (AUN) Charter and agreed to sign the amended AUN Charter at the Fifth ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting (5th ASED) to complement the role of the AUN as an ASEAN Body in the new ASEAN structure under the ASEAN Charter.
13. The Ministers welcomed Philippines’ offer to host the 5th ASED in conjunction with the 45th SEAMEO Council Conference in Cebu on 25-30 January 2010.
14. The Ministers expressed their appreciation to Thailand for the warm hospitality and arrangements made in hosting the 4th ASED and to the ASEAN Secretariat for its technical assistance to the Meeting.
