The Asean Higher Education Ministers’ Roundtable: Envisioning the Next Decade and Beyond was held to advance regional education efforts. — Photos by ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star.
Ministers commit to strengthening student and academic mobility, shared research goals and regional scholarships with Malaysia to lead Asean GEMS platform.
LANGKAWI: Efforts to enhance the movement of students and academicians within the Asean region – commonly referred to as student and academic mobility – were among the topics discussed and agreed upon during the Asean Higher Education Ministers’ Roundtable: Envisioning the Next Decade and Beyond, that took place recently.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said this includes initiatives to facilitate the exchange of both undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as academic staff from other Asean countries who may come to teach at universities or other institutions of higher learning in Malaysia.
“In addition, the discussions resulted in an agreement to establish a dedicated body to manage matters related to scholarships, with Malaysia taking the lead through the proposed Asean Global Exchange for Mobility and Scholarship (Asean GEMS) platform,” he said during the press conference after the roundtable.
Zambry said the platform will be used to source financial support from Asean member states to provide scholarships.
Launched on June 19, the Asean GEMS is a one-stop platform for information on regional scholarship and mobility programmes across the Asean region.
Zambry chairing the roundtable attended by education ministers and officials from Asean member states.
Zambry also shared that member states agreed to acknowledge and support ongoing efforts to develop a roadmap and work plan aimed at creating a shared space in higher education within the region.
He said this initiative is intended to strengthen regional cooperation and alignment in the field of higher education.
Among other matters agreed upon was the establishment of a steering committee comprising representatives from each Asean member state.
He said the committee will be responsible for formulating and monitoring the implementation of the proposed roadmap and work plan.
“We also agreed to establish a system that facilitates the mobility of graduates across Asean member.
“The aim is to enable graduates to move more freely and contribute their expertise in various fields, fostering knowledge sharing and cross-border collaboration,” he said.
He said Asean members agreed to create a network and collaborative platform at the university level, involving all institutions of higher learning across the region.
“In the context of Malaysia, higher education includes not only universities but also polytechnics and community colleges, all of which will be part of this regional effort,” he added.
The initiative, according to Zambry, is supported by the launch of the Global Asean Portal, which serves as a digital hub for educational collaboration, research, and employment opportunities across the Asean region.
He added that other matters discussed included proposals to establish networks and collaborative platforms among Asean higher education institutions, and to ensure that all outcomes from the discussions are brought to the Asean Heads of State Meeting in October.
“And to achieve the objective, a committee at the Asean level has also been established and was concluded during the roundtable discussions.”
The Philippines’ Commission on Higher Education chairperson Dr Shirley Castaneda Agrupis described the roundtable as a valuable platform for Asean to discuss the future of higher education in the region.
She praised Malaysia for hosting the event, which she said provided a meaningful opportunity for every Asean member state.
“I have to commend the Malaysian government for hosting The Asean Higher Education Ministers’ Roundtable: Envisioning the Next Decade and Beyond,” she said.
Agrupis said the roundtable is an opportunity for Asean members to exchange ideas, benchmark good practices and identify weaknesses.
She said research is a core function of higher education, and it is vital to strengthen research, development and innovation practices to ensure high-quality output in the region.
Castaneda added that there should be a common platform for each member country to exchange good practices on how to approach the universal upliftment of the socioeconomic status of every single family residing in the region.
She said this can only be achieved through education, which is a powerful tool for breaking barriers.
Delegate Dr Salim M. AlMalik, who is the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) director-general, said he was honoured to be invited to the event.
He said he had been given the opportunity to deliver a speech on student dropouts among member countries of the organisation.
“Statistics have shown that 250 million children are out of school — and what are we doing about this?
“Unfortunately, the majority of them are in our member states, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 70 million students are out of school.
“We (ICESCO) have carried out a number of initiatives to address these problems, particularly girls’ dropout.
“And it has been very successful in the way we are solving these issues,” he said.
Salim also pointed out that he was pleased to see the vision and leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, whom he met recently to discuss the importance of AI and how to incorporate it into all universities in Malaysia.
“The people of Malaysia have to be well aware of the importance of AI, while also keeping in mind the Islamic values of AI – how to use it, when to use it and who should use it,” he said.
Salim also expressed hope that ICESCO can become a strategic partner for the Festival of Ideas, which will take place in Kuala Lumpur in November.
He described the visit as very fruitful and productive, and said he was confident there would be more collaboration between ICESCO and Malaysia — collaboration that would benefit not only ICESCO and Malaysia, but also ICESCO member states.
The meeting saw the participation of higher education ministers from Asean member states and Timor Leste, as well as senior representatives from Myanmar and the Asean Secretariat.
Others who attended the meeting also included Brunei’s Minister of Education Datin Seri Setia Dr Romaizah Md Salleh, Indonesia’s Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Brian Yuliarto and Singapore’s Senior Minister for Education Dr Janil Puthucheary.
