This document discusses higher education harmonization and mobility in Southeast Asia towards regional integration and mutual recognition. It provides country case studies on higher education, medical, and nursing education from questionnaires. Key findings include the low percentage of foreign students in HE, common policies being implemented regarding quality assurance and qualification frameworks, and priority areas for regional collaboration like increasing academic mobility and harmonizing standards. Professional education requirements and policies for mutual recognition arrangements are also analyzed. The presentation calls for further strengthening coordination between higher education and professions to create a shared Southeast Asian higher education area without borders.

1. Higher Education Harmonization & Mobility:
Towards Regional Integration and Mutual Recognition
in Southeast Asia
Forum on Promoting Harmonization and Mobility in Higher Education Focusing on
Health Professions in Southeast Asia
SEAMEO College Module 2: High Officials Country Case Studies
11-13 March 2015, Bangkok, Thailand
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sauwakon Ratanawijitrasin
Mahidol University
[Former Director, SEAMEO RIHED]

2. Political-
Security Pillar
Socio-Cultural
Pillar
Economic
Pillar
ASEAN Community 2015
Bali Concord II 2003:
Establish ASEAN
Community by 2020
Cebu Declaration
2007: Acceleration
of ASEAN Community
by 2015

3. • Education in Socio-
Cultural Pillar
• Role of education
extends to all 3 pillars:
development of human
resources
Education is the
foundation for
development of all 3.
ASCC

4. • Engineering Services
• Architectural Services
• Accountancy Services
• Nursing Services
• Medical Practitioners
• Dental Practitioners
• Surveying Qualification
• Tourism Professionals
ASEAN MRAs
Mutual Recognition Arrangements
AEC

5. Mutual Recognition
Medical and Nursing MRAs:
Recognition of foreign practitioners
• qualification
• license/ registration/ practicing certificate
• practice experience (≥ 5 years, 3 years)
• ethics and law
Higher education as the foundation
for mutual recognition

6. Strengthen coordination and
collaboration between the professions
and higher education at national and
regional levels

7. Create Southeast Asia
Higher Education Common
Space
Regional HE Harmonization

8. SEA Higher Education Area
Harmonization & Diversity
• Comparability
• Compatibility
Meeting
• Needs
• Preferences

9. ▪To share and learn from member countries on
• higher education frameworks and standards,
policies, programs, implementation mechanisms,
quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation
• issues, challenges, lessons learned, and good
practices
▪To identify areas and mechanisms of possible
cooperation on higher education in general and
of health professions in particular
SEAMEO College Module 2

10. Study of Country Cases
Foci:
• Higher education in
general
• Medical professional
education
• Nursing professional
education
Methods:
• Questionnaire
• Country case
presentation
• Group discussion

11. Questionnaire Responses
Country
Questionnaire
HE MED NURSE
Brunei X X X
Cambodia X X X
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar X X
Philippines
Singapore X X X
Thailand X X X
Timor Leste X X X
Vietnam

12. Preliminary analysis of
questionnaire data

13. Higher Education
• Student mobility
• Common national policies
• Priority regional collaboration &
collective actions

14. % foreign students (inbound) studying in HE
out of total # students enrolled in HEIs
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Indonesia 0.1
7
0.1
7
0.1
6
0.1
0
0.1
3
Laos 0.7
2
Malaysia 6.0 5.7 5.4 7.3 7.6 7.6 6.7 7.4 7.0
Myanmar 0.0
1
0.0
1
0.0
1
0.0
1
0.0
1
0.0
2
0.0
2
0.0
2
0.0
3
Philippines 0.2
8
0.0
9
0.2
8
0.2
6
0.1
8
0.1
1
0.1
2
0.2
2
0.1
3

15. # Foreign Students (inbound): ASEAN & All

16. # Foreign
Students
(outbound):
ASEAN & All

17. Common national policies towards making HE
more comparable and compatible
• academic mobility: students and
faculty
• quality assurance: implemented &
planned
• qualification framework:
implemented & planned

18. Other Key efforts by Member States
• Basic education reform: K-12 --Philippines
• Introduce credit system --Myanmar
• Move HEI academic calendar --Thailand

19. immediate priority regional collaboration &
collective actions
Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar
establish regional
regulatory body
to develop
standards &
guidelines for
harmonization of
NQF,
accreditation,
registration &
certification
• share info on
HE
• discuss how
to make HE
more
compatible
and
comparable
• regional
accreditation
system
• increase use
of English
• facilitate
academic
mobility
• academic
mobility
• develop
global
researchers
• reform and
management
• additional
common
regional
language

20. Professional Higher Education & MRA
• Professional education
• Licensing
• Policies on MRA
• Priority regional collaborations

21. # HEIs offering undergraduate
medical & nursing programs
#HEIs
0
225
450
675
900
Indonesia Laos Malaysia Philippines Vietnam
93
3933
1
73 82
301
234
862
Nursing program
Medical program

22. # years for undergraduate professional education
# years Indonesia Lao PDR. Malaysia Philippines Vietnam
Medical
program: pre-
clinic level
3.5 3 2 3 2
Medical
program:
clinic level
2 3 3 1 4
Nursing
program
Diploma : 3
yrs
Bachelor : 5
Diploma: 3;
BSc nursing: 4
4 yrs and 2
summers
4 yrs
3 yrs

23. Nursing Education: # credits
Indonesia Lao PDR. Malaysia Philippines Vietnam
# credits
required for
undergraduate
nursing
education
Diploma :
110- 120
credits
BSN : 180 –
200
credits
BNS (directly
education): 142
BNS (continuing
education): 94
Pre
Registration:
120
Post
Registration :
80-100
202 credit
units
(1 unit = 18
hrs)
4-yr
program: 165
3-yr
program: 130
# hours
undergraduate
nursing are
required to take
nursing
internship/
1 year :
2208 hours
Directly
Education : 448
hrs
Continuing
education: 192
hrs
Pre-
Registration:
4704 hrs
Post-
Registration:
2688 hrs
2346 hrs
about 60% of
total hrs
takes for
internship/
practicum

24. Medical Education: # credits
Indonesi
a
Lao PDR. Malaysia Philippines Vietnam
# credits required
for pre-clinic
undergraduate
medical
education
144 106
240
(1 unit = 18
hrs)
66
# credits required
for clinic
undergraduate
medical
education
72 122 155 166
# hours
undergraduate
medical are
required to take
medical
1 yr 2750 hrs
2 years
housemanshi
p training
and rotated
4 monthly in
1 yr medical
internship
after
graduation: 10
months of

25. national licensing examination
Medical Indonesi
a
Lao PDR. Malaysia Philippines Vietnam
Is national
licensing
examination
required?
Yes Not yet No
Yes
(English)
Yes
Is licensing
examination
available in foreign
language?
No Not yet No
Yes
(English)
No
Nursing Indonesi
a
Lao PDR. Malaysia Philippines Vietnam
Is national
licensing
examination
required?
Yes Not yet Yes
Yes
(English)
Yes
Is licensing
examination
available in foreign
language?
No No Yes
Yes
(English)
No

26. National Qualification Framework
Indonesia Lao PDR. Malaysia Philippines Vietnam
Nursing Ed. Yes n/a Yes Yes
Med. Ed Yes Yes Yes Yes

27. MRA: Forms of Professional Mobility
AJCCM: 5 areas where foreign
medical practitioners will be given
temporary license or registration:
• Limited Practice
• Expert visit
• Research
• Education and training
• Humanitarian missions

28. policy/ law/ rules/ guidelines for MRA
MEDICAL Indonesia Laos Malaysia Philippines
implemente
d
implemented
& in
progress
implemented
*
NURSING Indonesia Laos Malaysia Philippines
implemented
& planned planned
implemented
& in progress
implemented
*

29. Proposed priority areas for
regional collaboration
• academic mobility/ exchange:
• students & professors
• study, internship, work
• harmonization of standards & qualifications/
standardize core curriculum, competencies
• research
• capacity development
• info exchange
• experience sharing
• comparison studies
• ASEAN language proficiency
• cultural programs

30. Build a shared process to harmonize
the diverse systems to create a
regional higher education area
where borders will no longer be
barriers for academic mobility,
credits and qualification recognition.

31. Thank you for your
contribution
Contact: <sauwakon.r@gmail.com>