Advancing and prioritising education
Strategic objective: Ensuring the integration of education priorities into ASEAN’s development agenda and creating a knowledge based society; achieving universal access to primary education; promoting early child care and development; and enhancing awareness of ASEAN to youths through education and activities to build an ASEAN identity based on friendship and cooperation.
Actions:
i.Achieve universal access to primary education across ASEAN by 2015 with priorities
to eradicate illiteracy and to ensure compulsory primary education for all and gender
equality in education, through advocating for equal opportunity in education regardless
of social class, geography ethnicity, background or physical disabilities, background or physical disabilities background or physical disabilities background or physical disabilities, with 70 percent target benchmark achieved by the end of 2011;
ii. Improve the quality and adaptability of education, including technical/vocational/skills training education in the ASEAN region by developing a technical assistance
programme including training for teaching staff and staff exchange programme at
higher education level for this purpose by 2009, in particular CLMV;
iii. Undertake periodic reviews of the various ASEAN scholarship programmes for the
purpose of rationalizing and consolidating them in order to increase their impact;
iv. Use ICT to promote education and life-long learning particularly in underserved
communities through open, distance education and e-learning;
v. Promote education networking in various levels of educational institutions and
continue university networking and enhance and support student and staff exchanges
and professional interactions including creating research clusters among ASEAN
institutions of higher learning,in close collaboration with the Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and the ASEAN University Network (AUN);
vi. Promote equal access to education for women and girls and enhance the exchange of
best practices on gender-sensitive school curriculum;
vii. Strengthen collaboration with other regional and international educational organisations
to enhance the quality of education in the region;
viii. Include the teaching of common values and cultural heritage in school curricula and
develop teaching materials and capability for this purpose starting in 2008;
ix. Develop and offer courses on ASEAN studies, both in the primary, secondary and higher
education levels;
x. Continue the ASEAN Youth Leadership Development Programme and similar
programmes with the same objectives and encourage networking among ASEAN
Youth Programme alumni to promote solidarity and mutual understanding;
xi. Support learning of ASEAN languages and promote exchanges of linguists;
xii. Establish ASEAN university games, ASEAN youth peace corps, ASEAN computer games
and ASEAN Science Olympiad to promote greater interaction and understanding
among the youths in the region;
xiii. Continue implementing youth awards programme such as the ASEAN Youth Day
Award and Ten Accomplished Youth Organisations in ASEAN (TAYO ASEAN) to recognise outstanding individuals and youth organisations significantly contributing
to the promotion of ASEAN ideas and values among the youth across the region;
xiv. Work towards the establishment of an ASEAN Youth Programme Fund to fund the
various youth projects and activities in ASEAN;
xv. Establish platforms for networking and sharing of best practises on ASEAN children
and youth development strategies and tools;
xvi. Exchange of cultural performers and scholars among Member States through education
system to give greater access and understanding of the different cultures of ASEAN
Member States;
xvii. Promote the options of university placements in an institution of higher learning
in a second ASEAN Member State through “a semester abroad” or “a year abroad”
programme;
xviii. Support the citizens of Member States to become proficient in the English language,
so that the citizens of the ASEAN region are able to communicate directly with one
another and participate in the broader international community;
xix. Promote life-long learning; xx. Work towards the establishment of an ASEAN Youth Development Index to evaluate
the outcomes and effectiveness of youth programmes in the region and to assist
Member States in planning new youth interventions; and
xxi. Promote early child care development through sharing of best practices, experiences
and capacity building