STRENGTHENING U.S.-BRUNEI EDUCATION TIES

UNCLAS BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000142 SENSITIVE SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/PD MCLOUGHLING DEPARTMENT FOR ECA/A FARRELLTA, ECA/A/E/EAP, ECA/A/S/A MORADD, ECA/PE/C/PY LEVENSTEINS. E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO KISL PREL BX SUBJECT: STRENGTHENING U.S.-BRUNEI EDUCATION TIES -------------- SUMMARY and ACTION REQUEST -------------- ¶1. (U) Ambassador Skodon met with Brunei's Minister of Education, Pehin Rahman Hj Mohamed Taib, to discuss how the U.S. could contribute to the Minister's ambitious agenda for educational reform, including integrating 'American-style' elements and a more holistic approach to Brunei's education system as well as increasing student and teacher-training exchanges with the U.S. The minister noted Brunei's lack of ESL teachers and suggested that highly qualified American ESL teachers could be part of the solution. The Minister's upcoming visit to the U.S will be an excellent opportunity to bolster ties between U.S and Brunei higher education institutions. To maximize the impact of this visit, post requests the Department support a call by the Minister on U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. END SUMMARY. -------------- -- SPN 21 -Brunei's revolutionary education system -------------- -- ¶2. (U) Ambassador Skodon paid a farewell call on Minister of Education, Pehin Rahman Hj Mohamed Taib on April 23, accompanied by Embassy Education/Cultural Affairs Assistant (Shova Thapa). Minister Rahman briefed on his ambitious reform program titled "21st Century Education" or in short SPN-21 (Sistem Pendidikan Negara - 21), which has been headline news locally as the 2008 academic year is the trial run for the new system. Although SPN 21 will take into full effect only by the year 2012, changes are already underway involving structure, curriculum and technical -vocational education. ¶3. (U) At the primary level, subjects like computer technology (locally referred to as ICT) and Mathematics for Primary I (Grade 1) to Primary 3(Grade 3) will be taught in the English language in a bid to increase students' performance in the related subjects. Under the new system, student will undergo two years of lower secondary instead of three years. By 2009, the junior secondary assessment taken at Form 3 (Grade 9 equiv),also known as PMB will be dropped, to focus students on preparing for the GCSE'O level examinations (on the UK system). Following that, students will be streamed into regular or accelerated paths. The 'fast track' students will take O levels at the end of Form 4 (Grade 10),with the majority continuing to do so at the end of Form 5 (Grade 11). Key features of SPN 21 include a shift from being exam-oriented, rote memorization-based to active learning which would be suitable for a broader proportion of Bruneian students. -------------- -------------- Brunei - A Potential Niche for American ESL Teachers -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Skodon inquired about the Ministry's difficulty in filling over 30 percent of the job slots for ESL teachers. (NOTE: CFBT (Center for British Teachers),the teacher recruitment agency contracted with the Ministry to recruit foreign teachers, attend, with Post's encouragement, the annual TESOL Convention held in NYC last month to recruit qualified U.S.-credentialed teachers. However, when CFBT forwarded the CV's of highly qualified American teachers to MOE, all applications were rejected due to MOE's difficulty in understanding the U.S. state-level credentialing of teachers. END NOTE) Minister Rahman assured that emphasis should not have been placed on accreditation but rather on the individual teacher's relevant ESL experience, and that he was still open to bringing qualified American teachers to Brunei. The Minister also told Ambassador there was a shortage of teachers in other disciplines such as arts, drama, singing, and extra curricular activity. -------------- More GOB Scholarships for U.S. Study -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Minister is a strong supporter of U.S. education, telling the Ambassador that he believes that in the coming years, more GOB scholarships will be directed towards study in the U.S instead of the traditional destinations of the U.K. and Australia. The Minister mentioned that he was interested in sending lecturers from the national university (Universiti Brunei Darussalam) on graduate and post-doctoral programs to equip them with the 'American approach' in terms of work ethic, teaching techniques, and moving towards a greater focus on research. -------------- Bringing the YES Program to Brunei -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Ambassador asked for the Minister's help in breaking through bureaucratic delays so that the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program could begin sending high school level students on exchanges to the U.S. The Minister was surprised to learn that his staff had turned down an invitation to attend the annual YES workshop in the U.S. and stated his support for further consideration of initiating the Program in Brunei. ¶7. (U) (COMMENT: For FY08, Post had transferred its 10 slots to Malaysia as the Bruneians could not confirm participation for the program. Some of the issues of concern from the Ministry staff are the program duration and timing especially for O-level students. Together with AFS Malaysia, Post will continue to work with the MoE to explain the benefits of Brunei participating in the YES program. END COMMENT). -------------- Minister to Visit U.S. -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Minister Rahman told the Ambassador that in an effort to establish collaborative links with U.S. institutions, he and a team of senior officials will conduct a working visit to the U.S in July. They currently plan to visit Washington D.C and New York. Post is working closely with the MOE on his schedue to visit Universities/Colleges which maybe of ptential interest to Bruneian students. -------------- COMMENT and ACTION REQUEST -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Given the Mnister's support for University study and academc exchange in the U.S., as well as his interest on odeling Brunei educational reforms on aspects ofthe American system, Post requests the Departmen's support in arranging a meeting with U.S. Secrtary of Education Margaret Spellings for Minister Rahman. Faced with an educational system constrained by traditional approaches to learning, Minister Rahman has been a key supporter of reform and innovation. A courtesy call on his U.S. counterpart will help the Minister in his quest to improve education in Brunei and, indirectly, support our goal of increasing the number of students seeking U.S. higher education from this moderate Muslim nation. SKODON