Malaysia Supports Regional ASEAN Education Collaborative

Malaysia has voiced its support to help create a “diffuse” educational framework across the borders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) member countries by utilizing the uniform, ASEAN Single Window (ASW) data initiative to develop quality education practices throughout their global region.

With the primary goal of promoting consistency, simplicity, transparency, and speedy efficiency in regional trade and economic growth, ASW is meant to strengthen and streamline uniform data within a regional bloc that includes: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Seven of the countries have already completed a trial run of the Single Window system, and the final member countries are to make ASW operational by 2012.

In terms of education, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the Single Window system should be a tool of permeability among the countries’ different education systems. Yassin, who is reportedly also Education Minister, said this ASW feature would include “student mobility programs with [a] credit transfer system between universities in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.”

In anticipation, China has reportedly launched school programs at its borders aimed at bolstering the study of ASEAN member countries’ languages by 2015 — the deadline for full integration of ASEAN’s economic plan.

Creative Commons Love: bernardoh on Flickr.com

Written by Lauren Riggs