2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Education Minister's Conference (APREMC-II)
🗓️ 5 to 7 June 2022 | By invitation only
📍 Shangri-la Hotel
Bangkok, Thailand (Hybrid Type)
OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
AGENDA
SPEAKERS
PARTNERS
THEMES
2022 BANGKOK STATEMENT
CSO STATEMENT
YOUTH STATEMENT
MINISTERIAL ROUNDTABLE
POLICY BRIEFS
TECHNICAL PAPERS
RESOURCES
PHOTO GALLERY
EXHIBITION
SIDE EVENTS
INFORMATION NOTE
FAQs
APREMC-II IN THE MEDIA
OVERVIEW
The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented disruption to education globally and regionally and severely impacted education delivery, learning outcomes, student engagement and their health and well-being. This resulted in a significant setback in progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region, in particular SDG 4. Countries in the Asia and Pacific region were the first impacted by COVID-19, which disrupted access to education for 760 million children at the initial peak of the pandemic in 2020[i]. While the situation varies between countries, schools were closed for an extended period in many cases. The impact of school closures on learning loss and recovery will be dramatic. Early estimates suggest that the proportion of children around the world who cannot read or write a simple text by the age of ten, will increase from 53% in 2019 to 63% in 2021[1]. The World Bank projected that the interruptions in school participation and learning may result in losses valued at $15 trillion in terms of affected children’s future earnings, and in long-lasting consequences in terms of wellbeing and life prospects of this generation, in particular for the most disadvantaged learners[2].
The 5-Year Progress Review of SDG 4 – Education 2030 in Asia-Pacific released in September 2021 by UNESCO and UNICEF, shows that despite overall progress, most countries surveyed were not on track to achieving SDG 4 and that the Asia-Pacific region was facing a learning crisis well before the COVID-19 pandemic, one that has since been alarmingly exacerbated by the broader impact of COVID on societies and economies. The shocking headlines are that: 27 million children and adolescents in the region remain illiterate, 95% of who are in South Asia; and that in many of the region’s countries, 50% of children are unable to read and understand a simple sentence by age 10, despite completing their early grades.
To mitigate the effects of the pandemic, countries implemented diverse remote and on-line education modalities to ensure the continuity of learning. However, not all children and youth were equally reached by these measures, and the most vulnerable groups were the most affected due to a deep digital divide. In addition, there were significant challenges such as the inadequate quality of distance learning programmes, reduced learning content and insufficient teacher preparedness and support to effectively deliver online learning and support their students. Consequently, it is expected that the learning loss will be extensive, putting millions of children and adolescents at risk of not returning to school and thus compromising their future. Furthermore, there is evidence that extended school closures are impacting learner’s health and wellbeing, especially the most vulnerable children.
Overall, while the situation varies between and within countries of the region, the pandemic not only exacerbated pre-existing deep inequities in access to education and learning achievements, it has also exposed important weaknesses in terms of the quality and relevance of education and the overall fragility of current education systems.
The pandemic also revealed the urgent need to strengthen and prepare education systems for future crises. The risk of decreased funding in education, rather than the increases required to attain SDG4 targets, has also demonstrated the urgent need to rethink, innovate, and transform education systems so that they become more equitable, inclusive, relevant, responsive and resilient. While governments and donors must reprioritise education funding, innovative financing may also be required to address existing gaps.
The pre-existing weaknesses of current education systems, exposed by the pandemic on the one hand and creative responses to the crisis on the other, have also revealed the need to reimagine education in future. Concerted, innovative efforts are required to strengthen the resilience and effectiveness of education systems across all levels of education. This should be done through sector-wide responses that ensure sustainable education recovery as well as the transformation required beyond COVID-19 to accelerate progress towards SDG4. Addressing the learning crisis and ensuring the right of learning for all must be at the heart of education recovery and transformation in the Asia-Pacific region. The need for curriculum review and flexible learning for adolescents, so that they have the skills required to thrive and contribute to socio-economic recovery is also urgent. Flexible pathways can also be a key means to enabling the realisation of lifelong learning in practice.
Countries in the region will face similar challenges in adapting their education systems, policies and practices to these new challenges. Learning more from each other as members of the Asia-Pacific community will help improve and expedite their responses.
[1] https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/232501603286799234/learning-poverty-measures-and-simulations
[2] See World Education Blog, 5 October 2021, There will be no recovery without empowered, motivated and effective teachers | World Education Blog (wpcomstaging.com)
[i] UNESCO and UNICEF. (2021) Situation Analysis on the Effects of and Responses to COVID-19 on the Education Sector in Asia: Regional Synthesis Report. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/rosa/media/16436/file/Regional%20Situation%20Analysis%20Report.pdf
H.E. Ms Thienthong currently serves as Thailand 55th Minister of Education. Prior to this, she served five terms as a Member of Parliament of Sa Kaeo province. She was also a Spokesperson for the Standing Committee on Tourism, a Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Culture, and a Treasurer for the Executive Directors of the Thai National Group to the Asian-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Union (APPU). She also held a position as an Advisor to former Minister Agriculture and Cooperatives, former Minister of Social Development and Human Security, and former Deputy Minister of Education. In addition, she was appointed as Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Commerce and Vice Chairperson of the Steering Committee on Foreign Affairs. Between 2002-2008, H.E. Ms Thienthong was awarded two Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) and two Knight Grand Cross (First Class) for her outstanding services to the Kingdom of Thailand.
Mr Aoyagi has been associated with UNESCO since 1984 through educational and cultural programmes of the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO in Tokyo. He joined UNESCO in 2002 as Chief of the Literacy and Non-Formal Education in Paris. Mr Aoyagi was Director of the UNESCO Office in Kabul and Representative to Afghanistan. He initiated the largest literacy project in the history of UNESCO, “Empowerment of Literacy in Afghanistan” in 2006. In 2012, Mr Aoyagi took up the post of Director of the UNESCO Office in New Delhi, and Representative to India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. He led the development of SAARC Framework for Action for SDG4: Education 2030.
Joining EAPRO in November 2021, Ms Comini is responsible for programme coherence and advocacy for UNICEF across the 14 country offices in the East Asia and the Pacific region. Ms Comini started her UNICEF career in 1991 in UNICEF Headquarter, New York, and held several senior positions including UNICEF Representative in Indonesia, UNICEF Representative in Cambodia, UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for Latin America & Caribbean, UNICEF Representative in Nicaragua, UNICEF Representative in North Macedonia, UNICEF Representative in Venezuela, and Regional Chief of Planning for Latin America & Caribbean. On secondment to the Resident Coordinator system, she also held the UNRC and UNDP Resident Representative position in Mongolia.
Ms Wickramanayake was appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth in June 2017 at the age of 26. In this role, she works to expand the UN’s youth engagement and advocacy efforts across all four pillars of work – sustainable development, human rights, peace and security and humanitarian action – and serves as a representative of and advisor to the Secretary-General. Originally from Sri Lanka, Ms Wickramanayake has worked extensively on youth development and participation, and has played a key role in transforming the youth development sector in her home country. Prior to taking up her post, Ms Wickramanayake was instrumental in creating the movement for civic and political engagement of young people, especially young women in Sri Lanka named “Hashtag Generation”. Previously, she advocated for global youth development on an international level including as the first ever Sri Lankan Youth Delegate to the UN and as the youth lead negotiator and member of the International Youth Task Force of the World Conference on Youth 2014.
Ms Giannini was appointed UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education in 2018. She provides strategic vision and leadership in coordinating and monitoring the Education 2030 Agenda, encompassed in Sustainable Development Goal 4. During her term, she has given fresh impetus to multilateral and bilateral partnerships; increased global focus on education’s ethical role in providing learners with the skills to respond to 21st century challenges and heightened attention to the responsibility of universities in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. She affirmed UNESCO’s leadership in the COVID-19 response through global evidence, guidance, policy dialogue and collaboration with public and private partners, including through the Global Education Coalition. With a background in the Humanities, Ms Giannini has served as Rector of the University for Foreigners of Perugia (2004 – 2012); Senator of the Republic of Italy (2013 – 2018) and Minister of Education, Universities and Research (2014 – 2016).
The Executive Board of UNESCO elected Ambassador Rastovac Siamashivili as its Chairperson in November 2021, for a two-year mandate. Since March 2019 she has been Ambassador, Permanent Delegate to the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Serbia to UNESCO. Prior to this posting, she was Deputy Assistant Minister for Bilateral Relations. During her diplomatic career, she has also been Head of the Department for Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Council of Europe and Deputy Head of the Task Force OSCE Chairmanship of Serbia, both posts within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia. She has held posts in her government’s missions in Brussels, Strasbourg and New York.
Dr Valenzuela is the first woman director since the establishment of SEAMEO in 1965. She is a member of the UNESCO SDG Global Steering Committee and co-chair of ICT and Distance Education of the UNESCO International Teacher Task Force. She serves as a Technical Advisory Board member of the UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning and a member of the Global Alliance for Monitoring Learning. She is also a technical advisory panel of the International Standards Classification of Teacher Training Programmes of UNESCO and UIS. She is a member of the ASEAN TVET Council and an ex-officio member of the ASEAN University Network. She has also served as Professorial Lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman, College of Education since 2006. 
