As part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen regional collaboration and alignment with national education priorities, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has convened a series of Focal Point meetings across the Commonwealth. Following the recent Pacific consultation held in Solomon Islands, where education officials emphasised the need for workforce-aligned learning, digital access, and institutional resilience, a regional meeting of COL Focal Points from Asia was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Senior representatives from the Ministries of Education of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka came together to reaffirm their commitment to advancing open and inclusive education. The meeting provided a platform to share national experiences, identify common priorities such as quality, access and affordability, and explore regional cooperation on emerging themes including virtual laboratories, micro-credentials, Generative AI, and employability.
Professor Peter Scott, President and CEO of COL, set the stage by illuminating COL’s extensive work in bringing together 56 member states, with a particular spotlight on the Asian cohort, supported by its regional hub in Delhi, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA).
The President unpacked COL’s work in terms of learning as innovation, open education and digitalisation, and reducing disadvantage, highlighting the various transformative educational models and innovative approaches. The potential for increased learner mobility and working together on new business models in education sparked considerable interest. He added, “It is critical that COL listen closely to each member government, that we bring member priorities to the fore, and that in working together we demonstrate the increased value of partnership.”
Individual presentations from Focal Point members of each of the five Commonwealth nations in attendance highlighted regional and national priorities and aspirations, with each representative underscoring the fundamental importance of access, quality, and affordability as the cornerstones of successful open education endeavours. Looking ahead, interest was shown for common initiatives in topics such as virtual labs, micro-credentials, the transformative potential of Generative AI, and enhancing employability for learners across the region.
The meeting concluded with closing remarks from Dr B. Shadrach, Director of CEMCA, who expressed appreciation for the active engagement of the participating governments and affirmed COL’s commitment to supporting their efforts to translate shared priorities into meaningful outcomes for open education in the region.
