Climate change to be taught in Southeast Asian schools

LOS BANOS, Laguna , Philippines  — A teacher’s guide book to be used in teaching climate change in schools in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, is being prepared.

Involved in the task are eight “centers of excellence” (COE) of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO).

SEAMEO is an intergovernment treaty organization founded in 1965 to foster cooperation among Southeast Asian nations in the fields of education, science, and culture. It is now composed of the 11 Southeast Asian countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

The book is one of the programmed outputs of the “Collaborative Project on the Development of a Teacher’s Guide Integrating Climate Change Issues in Southeast Asian Schools”.

The project was one of the topics discussed by the SEAMEO Council (SEAMEC) when it held its 2010 (45th) annual meeting held last January at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

SEAMEC is SEAMEO’s highest policymaking body composed of the education ministers of the member-countries.

In a previous conference, SEAMEO high officials discussed the proposal to develop a teacher’s guide integrating climate change issues in Southeast Asia for endorsement to the SEAMEC conference in Lapu-Lapu City.

Likewise, the Malaysia-based SEAMEO Regional Center for Educaiton in Science and Mathematics (RECSAM) presented the project proposal to the directors of the 19 SEAMEO regional centers based in the member-countries.

Over the past 45 years, SEAMEO has established COEs through which it pursues its programs, projects, and activities in various scientific, educational, and cultural fields.

The project to integrate climate change in school curricula will be implemented in collaboration with eight SEAMEO centers.

Of the eight, three are hosted by the Philippine government: the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) headed by Director Gil C. Saguiguit Jr. based in UP Los Baños, Laguna; Tropical Medicine (TROPMED)-Philippines based in the UP Manila-College of Public Health headed by Dean Nina Gloriani; and Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (INNOTECH) headed by Director Erlinda Pefianco in Diliman, Quezon City.

It was gathered by The STAR that the teacher’s guide book on the integration of climate change issues into the teaching and learning of school curricula in Southeast Asia is expected to be completed by August this year.

It will subsequently be presented to the education ministries of the 11 SEAMEO countries and to the eight associate members (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, and Spain).