Asean-Russia cooperation ‘ongoing sans fanfare’: Briones

FILE: To provide relevant information and updates on the implementation of DepEd’s Last Mile Schools program, Education chief Leonor Magtolis Briones spearheaded a press conference today, July 18, in Pasig City. (Photo: Department of Education – Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — Education Secretary Leonor Briones said engagement between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), particularly the Philippines, has been “ongoing without fanfare” and is growing with the opening of more platforms for cooperation, including education.

Briones made this remark during the Asean-Russia Forum on Education, which she co-opened at the MGIMO University in Moscow on October 21.

With the Philippines alone, Russian and Filipino engagement extends to scholarships with Filipino students sent to study in various fields in Russia since the 1960s.

While there are numerous aspects of cooperation that the Asean and Russia could explore, Briones said the challenge remains in the implementation.

During the event, she urged the attendees to bring to fruition the plans of action that have been agreed upon in previous conferences.

Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan, on the other hand, delivered the Philippine situation at the session on Best Practices on Basic Education, floating the need for the in-service professional development of teachers.

The Department of Education delegation noted the presentations of Russia’s educational institutions, specifically the programs for gifted children and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) initiatives, such as the use of small interactive robots for educational games of students in early grades. They likewise expressed great interest in replicating the models in the Philippines.

Briones met with Ambassador Carlos Sorreta during her visit to the Embassy on October 23, where they discussed developments in the delivery of basic education in the Philippines, as well as prospects for cooperation with Russia in the field of education.

Briones, whose husband was a scholar in Russia during the Cold War, also met with Filipinos who work in the country.

She urged them to continue “to contribute to the good reputation of Filipino scholars, and to choose to go back to the Philippines to contribute to its national development, whenever possible”. (Russia PE PR)