Philippines and Canada sign education collaboration agreement

MANILA, Philippines - The embassy of Canada has welcomed new academic partnerships between Canadian and Philippine post-secondary institutions that will promote research, student and faculty exchange, curriculum enhancement and faculty development.

The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and the Philippines’ Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recently signed a joint statement on education collaboration on the sidelines of the second high-level Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation meetings that were held in Ottawa.

Opportunities for Filipino students to study in Canadian schools continue to be highlighted in addition to opportunities for Canadians hoping to study in the Philippines.

CBIE and CHED announced that they have established a joint working group to implement the partnership, including two representatives each from CBIE and CHED. Beginning this month, they will work to finalize a four-year action plan to guide their work in building new educational cooperation between the two countries.

“The government of Canada welcomes this joint statement as it signifies an important step to further strengthen higher education cooperation and partnership between Filipinos and Canadians,” Ambassador Neil Reeder said.

He thanked CHED and the CBIE for all their efforts to build new areas of collaboration.

The ambassador noted that Canada is one of the most popular international study destinations in the world, with close to 300,000 foreign students studying in Canada each year. Many of these are from the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines.

International students can benefit from Canada’s consistent high-quality education in a tolerant, diverse, safe and welcoming environment.

The Canadian government has identified international education as one of the priority sectors where Canada’s capabilities and expertise provide strong competitive advantage.

Canada’s numerous advantages as a study destination enable CBIE’s vision to position Canada as a leader in international education. CBIE works across the full spectrum of education, bridging the interests of all learning levels, from K to 12 to postgraduate, and engaging both the public and private sectors.