HIGHER EDUCATION TAKES THE LEAD IN SHAPING THE REGION'S FUTURE - ASEAN SEC-GEN

PUTRAJAYA Nov 4 (Bernama) -- ASEAN's higher education leaders and institutions have to take the lead in driving transformation towards achieving the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, urged ASEAN secretary-general Dr Kao Kim Hourn.

He said while ASEAN had laid down strategic blueprints across its community pillars, higher education must move beyond alignment and assume a leadership role in shaping the region’s future.

“The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Strategic Plan designates education as a driver for equity and sustainable development. Its agenda calls for enhancing access to quality education, promoting lifelong learning, and integrating green skills into curricula,” he said in his keynote address at the Putrajaya Festival of Ideas (FOI) 2025 here today. 

Kao said that the forthcoming ASEAN Education Work Plan 2026–2030 would articulate the foundation for regional cooperation in education, with a focus on mobility, digital transformation, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

The ASEAN secretary-general outlined six “guiding stars” for higher education transformation, encompassing adaptability, research impact, emerging leadership, artificial intelligence (AI) readiness, planetary health, and TVET leadership.

“First, we must move from rigid curricula to adaptive learning and values-based education. The world no longer needs graduates who simply know facts; it needs agile, resilient learners who can unlearn and relearn,” Kao said, adding that higher education and TVET must advance hand in hand by aligning with industry needs and embracing lifelong learning.

He also emphasised that adaptability without moral grounding was aimless, and called for the integration of ASEAN Charter principles of respect for diversity, commitment to peace, and shared prosperity into teaching to produce responsible ASEAN citizens and ethical leaders.

On the second guiding principle, he said research must move beyond publication metrics to deliver real-world solutions such as sustainable agriculture, affordable healthcare and green technologies for ASEAN communities.

He highlighted the Joint Declaration on the Common Space in Southeast Asian Higher Education, adopted by ASEAN Education Ministers in August 2024 in Buriram, Thailand, which seeks to harmonise regional systems and foster mobility.

Malaysia, he said, would chair the inaugural meeting of its Steering Committee in April next year.

For the third pillar, he called for cultivating leadership pathways for emerging scholars and a shift from a ‘publish or perish’ culture that stifles innovation and mentorship.

Turning to AI as the fourth principle, Kao said ASEAN must confront the challenge of leading higher education in the AI era, as “AI is not a distant future; it is here, reshaping every facet of our lives, including education.”

He stressed the need for ASEAN-centric AI governance frameworks and critical digital literacy, citing the “AI Ready ASEAN” initiative by the ASEAN Foundation, supported by a USD5 million grant from Google.org to boost AI literacy across the region.

On the fifth principle, he said planetary health must be integrated across all academic disciplines, not confined to environmental studies.

Kao also called for elevating and transforming TVET leadership in the region, noting that in the age of AI and digital transformation, TVET  is the central artery for economic vitality.

“These six stars we aim for today are necessary, but not sufficient unless matched by bold action,” he said, stressing that ASEAN’s strength lay in its unity and shared commitment to “One Vision, One Identity, One Community.”

Kao warned that inaction would risk losing ASEAN’s best talent and leaving graduates unprepared for future challenges. 

-- BERNAMA