VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBD #0142/01 1290537
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD8DE8EB MSI3562-695)
P 080537Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4218
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS

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 
 
 
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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. 
 
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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. 
 
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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