43rd SEAMEO Council Conference

SEAMEO Council Conference (SEAMEC) was held at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 12-14 March. It was attended by Ministers of Education of SEAMEO Members and officials of Member Countries.

The meeting serves as a platform for member countries to promote and further strengthen regional understanding and cooperation in education, science and culture for mutual benefits. In the 43rd SEAMEC took up the issues on access, equity and quality of education, among other education policies and initiatives. The highlights of this year's council conference are the signing of the renewed Agreement between SEAMEO and UNESCO, the Policy Forum led by MOE Malaysia that discussed "Bridging the Education Gap: Improving Access, Equity and Quality - Southeast Asia and Beyond," and a discussion forum on the progress of Education for All in Southeast Asia.

The Education for All (EFA) initiated in 2000 among others aimed to expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education for the people and to ensure that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education. It also set to achieve 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults and to achieve gender equality in education. At the conference, Malaysia's Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was elected as the 44th SEAMEO president and SEAMEC chairman while his Thai counterpart Somchai Wongsawat was appointed vice president and vice chairman respectively.
The 44th SEAMEO conference will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand in March next year.