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Published on September 15, 2007

Singapore, probably the most economically advanced country in the region, takes over the chairmanship of Asean. Member countries will embrace an Asean charter when they meet in November in the city-state, thus signalling for the first time the legal existence of the grouping. And most delightful has been the endorsement of Surin Pitsuwan, former foreign minister, as the next Asean secretary-general. He will take on the job on January 1, 2008.

It is also time to examine how Asean might cope with current and future challenges. Member countries have begun the organisational strengthening process, acknowledging that they are sailing into uncharted waters of regional realities. Such realities include the shifting world order and balance with the emergence of China and India; Muslim fundamentalists and terrorism; and the eruption of other threats such as pandemics, natural disasters and environmental degradation.

Amid unforeseen challenges, one important issue lingering in the mind of Asean leaders is the existing technological and educational gap between and among member countries. It is a challenge that requires an urgent remedy, so essential that it could make or break the livelihood of the Asean population in the next decade.

Surin Pitsuwan voices concerns about possible consequences if Asean members fail to close the technological and educational gaps among themselves. Most apparently, Asean would lose its competitive edge in a world of fierce economic battles. The grouping would, as a result, be seen as irrelevant, or even insignificant on the global map.

While the issue has been timidly discussed among Asean leaders, some member states have already embarked upon their own projects to restructure their educational systems and expand the width and breath of their technological and scientific landscape to promptly respond to global changes. In other words, individual Asean members have self-interestedly pursued their own course of educational reform. Some move faster than others. But will there be any clear winner in this game of regional interdependence?

Singapore and Malaysia, for example, are setting themselves up as the educational hub of the region. Singapore in particular has gone far in terms of its studious educational reform, based on the need to further develop the local economy. But one question emerges: Do Singapore's technological and scientific achievements have anything to do with the narrowing of the present educational gap in Asean?

Such a question is not intended to criticise the success of Singapore's educational programme, but rather points to the fact that the Asean educational policy based on the exchange of best practices among members has never really taken off. While there are world-class institutes and research centres and courses offered in Singapore, countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam are left struggling with their problems of educational access and inclusion.

The need to close the educational gap, to remove the enormous disparities in educational access, inclusion and achievement, and to focus on the scientific knowledge of the 21st century must be fulfilled if Asean is serious about building its community by 2015. Singapore's journey to educational excellence lends an example of how education can have a huge impact on economic success.

Divorced from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore, a tiny island without valuable natural resources, felt that education could play a vital role in driving economic change by expanding the pool of professionals and executives. On top of this, emphasis was placed upon science and technology education in order to buttress the nation's economic development. Economic functionality has to this day been a cornerstone of educational policy in Singapore.

The government encouraged students to enrol in vocational institutes that taught science and technical subjects, with the message that they could offer a ticket to personal economic advancement. Singapore quickly became the centre for "brain services" in the 1980s. During this period, Singapore's production of engineers, in proportion to its population, was nearly double that of Britain.

In the current phase of its educational policy,

Singapore stresses the need to foster creativity and innovation so as to prepare its new generation for a world of competition where knowledge and brain-power, not natural resources or mass production lines, are the main sources of competitive advantage.

It is evident that Singapore's educational success provides a backdrop of great discrepancy in the levels of educational advancement in Asean. Elsewhere in Asean, education is given a low priority when it comes to national development. How member countries address the issue of the educational gap, therefore, seems to be a difficult task in itself.

The suggestion would be for Asean to relate the educational gap to the issue of human insecurity. As one Asian scholar says: "If we continue to leave vast sections of the people outside the orbit of education, we make the world not only less just but also less secure." Lack of education, particularly that of technical know-how in today's standard, is undeniably a form of insecurity. It prevents people from getting jobs, and thus disconnects national economies from the globalised world.

Perhaps, as Surin recently told me, Asean could come up with a Columbo Plan type of programme within the grouping, with the assistance, support and cooperation of Asean's dialogue partners, either through financial or technical means. Through such a programme, education would be made more accessible and affordable. Support from the dialogue partners could also be tailor-made to suit the educational needs of Asean members. This must be done alongside the national effort to formulate an education-centred policy.

The most important objective of the programme should underline the necessity to collectively close the widening gap in educational development within Asean. Success in this area will demonstrate Asean's seriousness in transforming itself into a meaningful regional entity and pursing an active role on the international stage.

Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun

Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun is a Singapore-based independent writer.