Korea, Peru co-host APEC's future education forum

South Korea, along with Peru, hosted a two-day meeting of education officials and teachers from Asia-Pacific countries in Lima this week to discuss how education should be provided in the future, the education ministry said Tuesday.

South Korean Education Minister Lee Joon-sik took part in this year's future education forum of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) that was opened on Monday.

Initiated by South Korea in 2005, the forum is a gathering of teachers, researchers and policymakers from 21 Asia-Pacific economies to discuss education and human resources development linked to the agenda of an APEC summit and share success stories of international education cooperation.

During the forum, the South Korean delegation introduced the country's implementation of a test-free semester program aimed at providing middle school students with chances to experience a wide range of learning activities for their future careers. Under the program, schools shift the focus away from test scores and teach students through diverse engaging methods such as discussion, experiments, outdoor activities and team projects.

The Peruvian delegation reported the country's education policies and teaching methods to address an education divide between cities and rural areas.

Lee held talks with Peruvian Education Minister Jaime Saavedra Chanduvi on the sidelines of the forum to discuss ways to enhance education cooperation between the two countries, including South Korea's support for developing Peru’s the e-learning sector and its dispatch of teachers to the South American country.

Peru has been pushing ahead with education reform such as increasing education finance, a hike of teachers' salaries and expansion of investment for the education infrastructure since July this year President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski came into office. (Yonhap)