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By Jonathan M. Hicap, Reporter
A Filipino teacher from Davao del
Norte won the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (Seameo)-Jasper
Research Award for a paper on the importance of sustainable
agriculture and ecology.
Julito Aligaen, a high-school
teacher of the Asuncion National High School in Davao del Norte,
bested 11 other entries from Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore and
Thailand.
His entry is the “Lifelong
Learning System: Learner Centered School-Field-School,” a
three-year interdisciplinary research project detailing the
integrated production and pest management-school-field-school
curriculum that provides Filipino rural youth the knowledge and
skills that give importance to sustainable agriculture and ecology.
Aligaen received the award in the
ongoing 42nd Seameo Council Conference in Bali, Indonesia, where
Education Secretary Jesli Lapus is representing the Philippines.
Part of Aligaen’s prize is a
20-day visiting fellowship in Canada and another 20-day visiting
fellowship in Southeast Asian countries. The SEAMEO-Jasper Research
Award is co-sponsored by the Canadian government.
The education ministers from
Southeast Asia convened in Indonesia to tackle education issues.
Indonesian President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono opened 42nd SEAMEO Council Conference, the 2nd
Asean Education Ministers Meeting, on the other hand, will be held
on March 16 at the Royal Pita Maha, Ubud, in Bali.
SEAMEO member states are Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.
This year, Singapore Minister
Tharman Shanmugaratnam will yield the council presidency to
Indonesian Minister Bambang Sudibyo. Member states take turns in
holding the presidency and in hosting the conference on a fixed
rotation basis.
A milestone in this year’s
conference is the entry of Spain as the eighth Seameo associate
member country.
Other SEAMEO associate member
states are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New
Zealand and Norway, and an affiliate member, the International
Council for Open and Distance Learning.
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