PROMOTING LIFELONG LEARNING

MARIAN S. GARCIA

The Department of Education (DepEd) has highlighted the importance of shared responsibility in promoting Lifelong Learning and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in support of the adoption of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Education 2030 Strategy and Action Plan.

Participating in the in the Eighth ASEM Education Ministers’Meeting (ASEMME8), the DepEd expressed commitment to the vision of the ASEM Education 2030 Strategy and Action Plan, particularly Strategic Objective 2: Promoting Lifelong Learning (LLL), Including Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

The DepEd recognized the cross-cutting roles of communities, industries, and institutions in nurturing lifelong learning that transcends formal education and, consequently, advancing the learning ecosystem’s adaptive development.

Learning opportunities can best thrive if we regard learning spaces, physical and virtual, formal and non-formal, as habitats for learners, where learners learn and become adaptive, officials said.

These are critical factors in attaining the objectives of the Strategy and Action Plan and ensuring a sustainable future for all. This aligns with the ASEMME8 theme “ASEM Education 2030: Towards more resilient, prosperous and sustainable futures“.

The Department also underscored the gains that the COVID-19 pandemic prompted in the education sector, such as the significance of lifelong learning, innovations in learning delivery, and multi-setting learning spaces.

There is a need to provide learning opportunities not only in formal education but in numerous settings, including the workplace, the home, and in socio-economic settings within and beyond national borders, to facilitate continuous learning, upskilling, and reskilling throughout life.

-oOoThe author is Teacher II at Pulungbulu

Elementary School