How are Southeast Asian countries bringing AI into primary education?

Delegates attending the event

The Southeast Asian Ministers ofEducation Organization Regional Training Center in Vietnam (SEAMEO RETRAC) on September 28 organized an education forum with the theme "School innovation for teaching and learning in the AI ​​and digital era: Advanced models in Southeast Asia" in Phan Thiet city, Binh Thuan province.

Here, representatives of countries said that they have been building policies and general education programs associated with AI and digital technology, creating conditions to bring these tools into schools as part of the system, not just stopping at temporary activities, for example, the Philippines.

Building policy on AI, digital

Dr. Gloria Jumamil-Mercado, representative of the Philippine Department of Education, shared that since 2021, the Philippines has announced a national AI roadmap to build a competitive AI economy , making the country one of the first countries in the world to have an AI strategy and policy. The roadmap covers many different areas, including education.

Dr. Gloria Jumamil-Mercado, representative of the Department of Education, Philippines

Ms. Gloria Jumamil-Mercado also emphasized that in all national programs, the importance of technology for education is always mentioned consistently. Notably, starting this school year, the Philippines applies the new general education program (MATATAG) from kindergarten to grade 10, which integrates 21st century skills such as information and technology into teaching, Ms. Gloria Jumamil-Mercado said.

"However, to effectively promote the use of AI and digital in education, we also face major challenges such as technological barriers, digital infrastructure gaps, and skills shortages. These are being addressed by a number of existing laws as well as government bills," the doctor affirmed.

Malaysia also approved a digital education policy in May to develop a digitally literate and globally competitive generation. To realize this vision, Ms. Rohayati binti Abd Hamed, representative of the Malaysian Ministry of Education, said the government has set out four main goals related to learners, educational leaders... with 18 strategies to be implemented through six different groups.

Malaysia's digital education policy aims to develop a generation of digitally-adapted students

This policy also portrays a new generation of learners, called “digitally literate students”. According to Ms. Rohayati binti Abd Hamed, these are young people who can use digital knowledge and skills to build new solutions; collect, manage, analyze and present data creatively; solve problems related to digital technology using computational thinking; and have the ability to communicate and work in groups in a digital environment with a standard attitude.

Sharing the same move, Mr. Lee Yan Kheng, representative of Singapore's Ministry of Education, said that the country also aims to develop a generation of learners ready for future digital changes by enhancing self-learning ability, promoting personalized learning experiences and ensuring learners use technology safely and responsibly.

"In the national digital competency program, every secondary school student in Singapore is provided with a personal learning device to learn in a high-tech environment anytime, anywhere. We also have a national online learning platform that applies AI. In addition to expanding the space outside the classroom with technology, schools are also given resources and autonomy to build learning programs that apply real-life experiences," Mr. Lee Yan Kheng informed.

Mr. Lee Yan Kheng, representative of Singapore Ministry of Education

Towards digital transformation of education

In Vietnam, the government approved the project "Enhancing the application of information technology and digital transformation in education and training for the period 2022-2025, with a vision to 2030" in 2022. The project has two main goals: promoting teaching and learning in the digital environment to become an essential, daily activity, and at the same time improving management efficiency based on technology and data, said a representative of the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training.

"Our general education database currently has 7,000 online lectures, 2,000 televised lectures, 200 virtual experiments... In addition, nearly 24 million students and 1.4 million teachers have digitized data. The university education database currently records 400 units with 2.6 million student records, more than 156,000 staff and lecturer records," said a representative of the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training.

Digital transformation is also one of the key issues of Brunei Darussalam's education, according to Ms. Masdiah binti Awang Haji Tuah, representative of the country's Ministry of Education. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam has announced the digital transformation plan for education for the period 2023-2027, and established the Center for Educational Technology (EdTech) to support the process of providing technology-based online education and learning.

Ms. Masdiah binti Awang Haji Tuah, representative of the Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam

"In addition to online learning platforms for a variety of subjects and levels, we also build smart classroom models with features such as possessing advanced technology and equipment, creating interactive learning opportunities, personalizing learning experiences and taking learners as the center...", Ms. Masdiah binti Awang Haji Tuah shared.

Associate Professor Phonraphee Thummaphan, representative of the Thai Ministry of Education, mentioned the aspect of education management in the AI ​​and digital era. Specifically, we need to build a digital government and digital infrastructure to provide online educational services such as licensing, training, and exams. "In addition, it is also necessary to connect databases between related organizations to provide better services and recruit specialized digital personnel for effective operation," said Associate Professor Phonraphee Thummaphan.

Two representatives from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Cambodia, Mr. Dy Samsideth and Mr. Phel Phearoun, informed that the country is currently integrating information technology into the general education program. Specifically, Cambodian students from grades 4 to 12 will study 1-2 hours per week on topics such as information and communication literacy, information technology for life, computational thinking and programming...

Mr. Dy Samsideth, representative of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Cambodia

"Generative AI in general, and ChatGPT in particular, only creates information, not knowledge. We must have a clear awareness to evaluate and transform the information received into our own knowledge, if we do not want to be fooled by those tools. Another note is that EdTech will not replace teachers, but teachers with better EdTech skills will replace those who know little or nothing," the Cambodian expert warned.

On the morning of September 28 and 29, SEAMEO RETRAC also held its 26th Board of Directors meeting with the participation of senior officials and experts from the Ministries of Education of many Southeast Asian countries. At the meeting, the Board of Directors members highly appreciated SEAMEO RETRAC’s timely efforts and achievements for regional education in recent years, and at the same time provided constructive comments for the development of the center in the coming time.

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