Vietnam’s Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha and President of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) Council Muhadjir Efendy discussed bilateral cooperation in education and training during their talks in Hanoi on July 23.

Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha (centre) at the talks with President of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation Council Muhadjir Efendy on July 23 (Photo: moet.gov.vn)

Muhadjir Efendy, who is also Indonesia’s Minister of Education and Culture, is currently paying a working visit to Vietnam as President of the SEAMEO Council.

Nha said he is interested in the activities of SEAMEO centres in both Vietnam and the region at large. 

Vietnam has highly valued the support of SEAMEO centres, especially the Indonesian centres for quality improvement of teacher and education personnel (QITEP) in maths, science, and languages, which annually provide short-term training courses for Vietnamese teachers.

Regarding bilateral relations with Indonesia, Minister Nha said he hopes the two countries will increase the exchanges of teachers, students, and experience-sharing to develop their education cooperation activities.

After hearing experiences of Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training in adopting the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Muhadjir Effendy said many SEAMEO members were keen to learn about this model.

He suggested a deeper exchange between Vietnamese and Indonesian working groups about this study to improve the quality of education on both sides.

As Indonesia looks toward sustainable development in education, the country pays great attention to vocational training and enhancing the quality of its teachers and students, he said.

The two ministers agreed to boost SEAMEO cooperation via sharing experiences in appraising the quality of education, developing tertiary education, and promoting the exchanges of students, lecturers, and researchers.

The SEAMEO Council is comprised of the 11 Southeast Asian education ministers.

Since its establishment in 1965, the organisation has set up 24 regional centres to implement research and training programmes in various fields such as education, science, and culture.

Vietnam has two SEAMEO centres located in southern Ho Chi Minh City, namely the SEAMEO Regional Training Centre and the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Lifelong Learning.

Effendy is scheduled to have working sessions at the two centres on July 24. –VNA