The 8^th ASEAN Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASED) commenced in Laos’ capital Vientiane on September 11.

The meeting was attended by the 10 ASEAN ministers of education and their partners from such countries as China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

During his opening speech, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Sports, Phankham Viphavanh, welcomed the delegates to the meeting. He expressed his hope that the event would create opportunities for ASEAN member states to share experience and close the gaps in education development, thus contributing to the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

The participants reviewed the progress made in ASEAN’s educational cooperation between 2011 and 2015, and identified shortcomings. The “ASEAN State of Education Report 2013” (ASOER), which provides an overview of education in ASEAN, was highlighted as one of the most important achievements.

During the working sessions, education ministers agreed to increase cooperation on education throughout the region and utilise the “ASEAN-help-ASEAN” mechanism in a bid to support member states’ development of educational policy.

The ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF) was also approved, facilitating the comparison of all the qualifications granted by ASEAN member states, as well as enhancing national qualification systems.

The Vietnamese delegation is led by Education Minister Pham Vu Luan.

(Source: VNA)