APEC promotes regional scholarships to develop workforce

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will offer more scholarships to students from member economies to help create a more efficient workforce, one of its priorities for this year, the chair of the Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) said Saturday.

 

"We are promoting more APEC scholarships across the region… these scholarships will be there to improve human capital development in the region," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Laura Del Rosario, the SOM chair, said Saturday at the conclusion of the meeting, which is meant to lay the framework for APEC policy for the year.

 

The four areas that APEC 2015 will prioritize are enhancing regional integration; mainstreaming small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in global and regional markets; investing in human capital development; and building sustainable and resilient economies.

 

Del Rosario said that among the Philippine schools that will offer scholarships to students from APEC member economies are Bicol University in Legazpi City and the University of San Carlos in Cebu City.

 

According to the APEC website, Bicol University has three scholarships for students pursuing one-year exchange programs in Peace Studies while University of San Carlos offers three scholarships for students planning to enroll in four-year or one-year programs and provides a 100-percent tuition fee waiver.

 

"It is not expensive [for the universities], all you have to do is open up your classes to these foreign students so that they could attend your courses, they don't have to pay… that does not cost money, magdadagdag ka lang ng dalawang tao, it's the same teacher, you're not paying the teacher more," she noted.

 

Other APEC member economies offering scholarships include Australia, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States.

 

"We're targeting one million students to be roaming around the APEC region… in five years," she said.

 

The scholarship and internship initiative was introduced last year by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Del Rosario said.

 

“Together, APEC and the private sector are opening the gates of opportunity to provide more of the region’s three billion people the knowledge, skills and experience they need to thrive in a 21st century marketplace," Kerry was quoted as saying in an APEC statement on Saturday.

 

Meanwhile, Del Rosario said education in the Philippines needs to be comprehensive for the country to achieve inclusive growth.

 

"Sa aking personal, sa education kulang tayo," she said when asked how more Filipinos can benefit from the economic growth that the country has posted in recent years. "Kailangan ang education natin ay mas ma-disiplina, mas malalim," she added.

 

She said that in Taiwan and Korea, education, science, and technology are handled by a single ministry.

 

"Sa kanila, tinutuhog na nila ang science and technology sa education dahil alam nila ito ang magtutulak para umunlad ang pag-iisip. Ang paggawa ng mga conclusion kasi, mahirap pag hindi ka data-based o science-based. Puwede ka mag-conclude agad, tapos later on, pala hindi," she said. — JDS, GMA News