Background of ASEAN Council of Teachers

Since ASEAN was founded as an organisation of the five South East Asia countries, leaders of teachers’ association in ASEAN countries thought over the possibility of forming an organisation with a view to enable them to foster concepts and aims of ASEAN, especially on the field of education and culture. It aims at further promoting closer relationship between teachers in ASEAN countries.

On the initiative of World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP), a seminar participated by the representatives of teachers’ association of ASEAN member countries was held in Kuala Lumpur, from 6th to 10th December 1976.

The theme for seminar was “Role of Teachers Organisations in FIVE ASEAN Countries in Promoting the Philosophy and Concepts as well as the aims and Objectives of ASEAN.

The topics discussed in the seminar were as follows:

1. The philosophy and Concept of ASEAN.
2. ASEAN Today: an assessment.
3. ASEAN and the ESCAP Region.
4. ASEAN and Global Community With Special Emphasis on the United Nations.
5. The Role of Teachers’ Organisations in Promoting the Philosophy and Concept of ASEAN.

In WCOTP ASEAN Regional Conference held in Baguio City, Philippines on 5 May 1977, a meeting was held with the representative of teachers’ associations from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines. A discussion of the possibility of founding one forum of teachers’ association of ASEAN was set up.

In the essence of the discussion, all participants came to an agreement to form the association and decided to have a further discussion in a meeting to be held in Jakarta while the members were attending WCOTP World Assembly of Delegates.

On 31 July 1978 the chairman of the delegates of teachers’ associations of ASEAN member countries, attending the 1978 WCOTP World Assembly of Delegates, held a special and separate meeting in Jakarta. The thirteen teachers associations of ASEAN countries had found a common need for having one real and formal teachers’ association of ASEAN countries.

The meeting decided that the association was aimed at realising and fostering the philosophy, the concept and aims of ASEAN. It was also decided that then next meeting was held in Singapore in November 1978. The programs were to decide the name of the association, to discuss the structure of the organisation, the aims and the executive committee, and to work out activities of the association, and so forth.

Further to the meeting held in Jakarta, an ASEAN teachers’ association meeting was held in Singapore on 23 November 1978. The principal decisions are as follows:

1. Name of the teachers’ association of the five ASEAN countries is ASEAN Council of Teachers (ACT).
2. ACT should be a flexible and loose federation of teachers’ organisation in the ASEAN countries.
3. The aims of ACT are set as
   – To cooperate with the members in realising the philosophy and aims of ASEAN as well the spirit and culture of the nations in this region.
   – To foster and cooperate with ASEAN countries in the common projects and programs and sharing mutual interests in the fields of teaching, education, science and culture.
   – To foster the development of educational activities directed towards the achievement of aims and aspiration of ASEAN.
4. The ACT secretariat shall be administered by turns by each of the five ASEAN countries. The teachers’ associations of each country shall be responsible to serve for one year.
5. At the beginning stage, in the organising development, ACT shall conduct activities such as goodwill tours, sports, conventions, meetings, seminars and cultural festivals.
6. The activities mentioned above are not only to be participated by the leaders of each organisation but all teachers in ASEAN countries as well.
7. The teachers associations participating in the activities mentioned in point (5) shall bear the participants’ expense.
8. A local association of teachers shall be responsible for raising fund to finance the association and may contact foundation, local as well as international agency, provided it has binding agreements.
9. ACT meetings are held whenever needed. They can be held on the occasion where activities organised my international situations are attended by teachers’ association of ASEAN.
10. Singapore Teachers’ Union was designated as chairman and responsible for the office of ACT Secretariat for the 1978/1979 term office.
11. The principal ACT activity in this term was to hold the first Convention in Bangkok for the four days in 1979. KHURUSAPHA, the Teachers Council of Thailand was the host and organizing committee.

In the World Congress of International Federation Free Teachers Union (IFFTU) held in Manila, 15th to the 22nd December 1978, the delegates of teachers associations of the five ASEAN countries had an opportunity to hold a meeting on 20th December 1978. This ASEAN delegates discussed again the decision in Singapore on 23rd November 1978 and further programs of ACT.

​The participants emphasised the necessity of publishing aims and activities held by ACT. The first effort made was that Convention held for four days in Bangkok.

Negara Brunei Darussalam became the sixth member in December 1984. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia became the seventh, eighth and ninth member respectively in 1989. Republic of Korea became the first non-ASEAN member in 2012 as the ASEAN+1 member. After joining of Republic of Korea, the abbreviated name of the convention became ‘ACT+1’.