MINISTERS’ ROUNDTABLE ON ACCESS AND 

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION

AND

ASEAN HIGH-LEVEL POLICY DIALOGUE ON ACCESS TO QUALITY HIGHER EDUCATION: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

 26 June 2026

Yang Mulia Dato Seri Setia Dr. Haji Norarfan bin Haji Zainal, Deputy Minister of Education of Brunei Darussalam attended the Ministers’ Roundtable on Access and Sustainable Development in Higher Education, which was held online on 26 June 2026.

With the theme “Advancing Equitable Access to Quality Higher Education through Digital Transformation, Sustainability, and Regional Harmonisation”, the Ministers’ Roundtable was organised by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) of the Republic of the Philippines. Among other objectives, the session aimed to build ministerial consensus on common policy directions and priority actions for ASEAN higher education cooperation.

During the Roundtable, Ministers of Education and Higher Education from the ASEAN Member States presented national statements outlining their respective initiatives, challenges, implementation gaps, and proposed measures concerning access to higher education and sustainable development. In his statement, Yang Mulia Deputy Minister of Education emphasised that equitable access to quality higher education is a shared regional responsibility and mentioned the range of support measures provided by Brunei Darussalam to broaden access to higher education. The need to embed sustainability across teaching, research and institutional operations in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was also underscored.  

Prior to the Ministerial Roundtable, the ASEAN High-Level Policy Dialogue on Access to Quality Higher Education: Digital Transformation and Sustainability was held online on Thursday, 25 June 2026.  Representing Brunei Darussalam was Yang Mulia Dr Haji Azman bin Ahmad, Permanent Secretary (Higher Education), Ministry of Education. The session included keynote addresses, panel discussions, and dialogue sessions focusing on issues related to access, digital transformation, sustainability, and regional harmonisation in the higher education sector.

Brunei Darussalam’s participation in the Ministerial Roundtable and the ASEAN High-Level Policy Dialogue reflects the Ministry of Education’s continued commitment to strengthening the national education system so that it remains relevant, resilient and responsive to global developments in line with the aspirations of Wawasan Brunei 2035. 

Accompanying Yang Mulia Deputy Minister of Education and Yang Mulia Permanent Secretary (Higher Education) to both events were officers from the Ministry of Education.

_____________________________________________________

MEJA BULAT MENTERI-MENTERI MENGENAI

 AKSES DAN PEMBANGUNAN LESTARI DALAM PENGAJIAN TINGGI

DAN

DIALOG DASAR PERINGKAT TINGGI ASEAN MENGENAI AKSES KEPADA PENDIDIKAN TINGGI BERKUALITI: 

TRANSFORMASI DIGITAL DAN KEMAMPANAN 

26 Jun 2026

Yang Mulia Dato Seri Setia Dr. Haji Norarfan bin Haji Zainal, Timbalan Menteri Pendidikan Negara Brunei Darussalam telah menghadiri Meja Bulat Menteri-Menteri mengenai Akses dan Pembangunan Lestari dalam Pengajian Tinggi yang berlangsung secara maya pada 26 Jun 2026.

Bertemakan “Advancing Equitable Access to Quality Higher Education through Digital Transformation, Sustainability, and Regional Harmonisation”, Meja Bulat Menteri-Menteri tersebut telah dianjurkan oleh pihak Suruhanjaya Pengajian Tinggi, Republik Filipina. Antara lain, sesi berkenaan bertujuan untuk menjana kesepakatan di peringkat menteri mengenai hala tuju dasar bersama dan tindakan keutamaan bagi kerjasama pendidikan tinggi ASEAN.

Semasa sesi Meja Bulat tersebut, Menteri-Menteri Pendidikan dan Pengajian Tinggi dari Negara-Negara Anggota ASEAN telah menyampaikan kenyataan negara masing-masing mengenai inisiatif, cabaran, jurang pelaksanaan dan cadangan tindakan berkaitan akses kepada pengajian tinggi dan pembangunan lestari. Dalam kenyataan dari Negara Brunei Darussalam, Yang Mulia Timbalan Menteri Pendidikan menegaskan bahawa akses yang saksama kepada pengajian tinggi yang berkualiti merupakan tanggungjawab bersama di peringkat serantau dan seterusnya mengongsikan mengenai pelbagai bentuk sokongan yang disediakan oleh Negara Brunei Darussalam bagi memperluas akses kepada pengajian tinggi. Di samping itu, penekanan turut diberikan kepada kepentingan mengintegrasikan aspek kelestarian dalam pengajaran, penyelidikan dan operasi institusi bagi menyokong pencapaian Matlamat Pembangunan Mampan (SDGs).

Sebelum Meja Bulat tersebut diadakan, satu sesi dialog dasar bagi pegawai-pegawai kanan bertajuk Dialog Dasar Peringkat Tinggi ASEAN mengenai Akses kepada Pendidikan Tinggi Berkualiti: Transformasi Digital dan Kemampanan telah berlangsung secara maya pada hari Khamis, 25 Jun 2026.  Mewakili Negara Brunei Darussalam ialah Yang Mulia Dr Haji Azman bin Ahmad, Setiausaha Tetap (Pengajian Tinggi), Kementerian Pendidikan Negara Brunei Darussalam. Sesi ini mendengarkan penyampaian ucaptama, perbincangan panel serta sesi dialog yang memfokuskan kepada isu akses, transformasi digital, kelestarian dan penyelarasan serantau dalam sektor pengajian tinggi.

Penyertaan Negara Brunei Darussalam dalam Meja Bulat dan Dialog Dasar ini mencerminkan komitmen berterusan Kementerian Pendidikan dalam memperkukuhkan sistem pendidikan negara agar kekal relevan, berdaya tahan dan responsif terhadap perkembangan global selaras dengan aspirasi Wawasan Brunei 2035. 

Turut menyertai rombongan Yang Mulia Timbalan Menteri Pendidikan dan Yang Mulia Setiausaha Tetap (Pengajian Tinggi) ke kedua-dua acara berkenaan ialah beberapa pegawai daripada Kementerian Pendidikan.