Briones voted SEAMEO vice president for 2021-2022
MANILA – Former Street parliamentarian and now Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones was elected Vice President of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization for 2021-2022 during the 51st SEAMEO Council (SEAMEC) Conference yesterday.
“We are grateful to be elected as Vice President of SEAMEC. This is a challenge for us to continue what we have started and improve it to continue education and to provide better future for our learners,” Secretary Briones was quoted saying in a statement released today by the Department of Education.
She was also elected Vice Chairperson for the recently concluded SEAMEC Conference. Part of SEAMEO’s tradition, the current SEAMEC’s Vice President will assume the presidency in the next Council Meeting in 2023.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s Minister of Education, H. E. Chan Chung Sing was elected President and Chairman of SEAMEC.
He underscored the importance of the education sector in the region that has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic, as Ministers of Education from different countries managed to keep schools safe and ensure learning continuity.
“There have been so many silver linings that we should be proud of which will impact education for the better. We first adapt to digital learning, we accelerated out investment in this area, from infrastructure enhancement to device provisions, to e-learning resource developments, and more teachers are using educational technology to provide quality learning for students,” he explained.
Singapore’s Minister of Education said blended learning approaches ensured learning opportunities will continue despite the pandemic.
“Through a blended learning approach, where we can combine the best of technology where face-to-face interrupted, the crisis has brought the education opportunity closer together and closer to our stakeholders. With home-based learning, teachers work with parents and students to transit to the new arrangements,” he further explained.
The Philippines will be next host country and Secretary Briones proposed to host the 52nd SEAMEC in Dumaguete City in 2023,
“I would like to propose for the next round of meetings of SEAMEO Ministered in the Philippines, in the City of Dumaguete. It is very well-known as University Town and is the site of several excellent universities and research centers. At the same time, it is located in one of the most beautiful islands of the Philippines,” she concluded. (Melo M. Acuña)
Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones, SEAMEO VP for 2021-2022. (DEPED Photo)
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