Brunei Minister of Education Datin Seri Setia Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh attended the 52nd Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) Council Conference (52nd SEAMEC) and the 6th Strategic Dialogue of Education Ministers (6th SDEM) held from February 8 and 9 in Manila, Philippines.
The Council Conference was hosted by the Philippine Department of Education along with the SEAMEO Secretariat.
Ministers from Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore were also in attendance along with deputy and vice ministers from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.
The conference was also joined by SEAMEO associate members from Spain; SEAMEO affiliate members (British Council and the University of Tsukuba), directors and key officers from 26 SEAMEO regional centres.
The conference was officiated by Philippine Vice President and Secretary of the Department of Education Sara Zimmerman Duterte. A welcoming speech was then delivered by Singapore Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing as the President of SEAMEO Council.
The opening ceremony saw a recorded keynote address video from Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr.
Datin Seri Setia Dr Hajah Romaizah as the moderator of the first roundtable shared efforts made by Brunei Darussalam to prioritise foundational and lifelong learning.
The minister also highlighted that the Brunei Ministry of Education (MoE) recognises the significance of foundational learning, thus placing great emphasis on early childhood education through its efforts on the development of the National Quality Framework, the National Quality Policy and a National Quality Curriculum Framework specifically on early childhood education as well as teacher capacity building and professional development workshops at the early childhood level.
The minister also shared the development of the Digital Transformation Plan that aims to transform the education sector, by streamlining the processes and making use of technologies to enhance education.
The establishment of the Lifelong Learning Centre, she said offers over 140 courses in an effort to improve the quality of academics and quality education.
Also part of the Brunei delegation were Permanent Secretary (Core Education) at the MoeDr Shamsiah Zuraini Kanchanawati binti Haji Tajuddin and officials from the MoE.
