THE DEPARTMENT of Education welcomed the affiliation of the Association of Southeast Asian Teacher Education Network with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

AsTEN is a network of premier leading teacher education institutions of countries in the ASEAN. The Philippine Normal University serves as the founding chair and permanent secretariat.

“AsTEN will have significant contributions towards strengthening the ASEAN education sector through the provision of quality teacher education programs for the region. With the many possibilities in the future of workforce, teacher development and welfare are important aspects to look into,” Education Undersecretary Jesus Mateo said.

Mateo endorsed the application of AsTEN as an ASEAN-associated entity last year, which was supported by the Commission on Higher Education.

“AsTEN’s inclusion to the roster of entities associated with ASEAN is a milestone for the Network and the Philippine Normal University. This accreditation is given to organizations representing different sectors that initiate programs and projects to benefit ASEAN peoples. AsTEN represents the teacher education sector in ASEAN under the category of “Think Tanks,” PNU President Dr. Bert Tuga said.

AsTEN is expected to play a significant role in promoting ASEAN’s agenda, contributing towards the realization of the ASEAN vision, recommending policies, and expressing views on significant events of regional and international concerns.

Aside from PNU, the other member institutions of AsTEN are Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan (Brunei Darussalam), National Institute of Education (Cambodia), Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (Indonesia), National University of Laos (Laos PDR), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Malaysia), Yangon University of Education (Myanmar), National Institute of Education-Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), Kasetsart University (Thailand), and University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam).