FIFTEEN Filipino teachers participated in the KPTEP Online Teacher Exchange Programme in partnership with the Korean Ministry of Education this year.

Three schools were also selected to join — Renato Lopez Elementary School in Mandaluyong City, Tisa II Elementary School in Cebu City, and Rizal Elementary School in Panabo City.

Each school was allowed one study group and one lead teacher that is a KPTEP alumnus.

“I always believe that opportunities to understand other cultures would always enhance the competence and commitment of our fellow teachers in terms of effort to really create learners who are respectful of diversity,” Education Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio said during the programme’s launch.

The Filipino teachers who joined the program are Elizabeth Catibog (KPTEP Alumna, Lead Coordinator), Efraim Coronacion, Fergie Gonzales, Barbara Ramos, and Emmanuel Dela Cruz in Luzon; Edmund Dacua (KPTEP Alumnus, Lead Coordinator), Reggie Lou Savior, Regine Lagrimas, Honey Riza Yu Vega, and Jocelyn Llego in Visayas; and Cherry Lyn Balbacal (KPTEP Alumna, Lead Coordinator), Johanna Paño, Honeyline Depra, Shella Rose Amodia, and Edgardo Pamugas III in Mindanao.

“We’ve been able to work very well with our Korean counterparts in making sure that participants from the Philippines become fully able to develop and acquire the competencies intended to be focused on as this exchange program is implemented,” San Antonio said.

Despite the Covid19 pandemic, the programme was launched this year to spread the impact of educational exchange.

“Through programs like the KTEP, Filipino and Korean teachers have the opportunity to learn from each other’s best practices in the field of education, as well as from strong cross-cultural connections. This exchange epitomizes the true essence of people-to-people cooperation with its focus on global citizenship education,” Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Nathaniel Imperial said.

UNESCO-Asia Pacific Center of Education for International Understanding Director Lim Hyun Mook agreed that countries should work together to overcome the challenges of the pandemic in education.

“Global education emphasizes solidarity and cooperation, which are the keys to problem-solving. So this year’s online exchange program is particularly important. Since this is our first attempt, we will be facing a number of unexpected problems and challenges. But through this process, we will also learn valuable lessons that will help us a lot in planning our future exchange programs to include both offline and online equities. APSEIU reconfirms its support to the participating teachers and schools for the success of the program,” Mook said.