TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The European Union (EU) has expressed their commitment in supporting education in the Southeast Asian region through its newly launched SHARE (Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region) program. "This program is the first major EU technical support to ASEAN’s efforts to harmonize higher education across the region," said Colin Crooks, the acting head of the EU delegation to Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and ASEAN during a press conference at Le Meridien Hotel in Jakarta on Wednesday, May 6, 2015.

Crooks added that the SHARE program aimed to share the EU experience and expertise in the higher education area. The program will also support further development of the ASEAN qualification framework and quality assurance, as well as strengthening the ASEAN Credit Transfer System and ASEAN-EU Credit Transfer System. Crooks said that it would promote student mobility, the cornerstone of EU integration.

Dr. AKP Mochtan, the deputy secretary-general for community and corporate affairs department of ASEAN, said that the education agreement came at an auspicious time with only months away before the region's integration. "ASEAN is transforming into a community of opportunities," he said. In order to tap into the maximum potential of ASEAN, Mochtan said that it was important for the region to have well-qualified workforce.

Moreover, to ensure a more uniformed level of education across ASEAN, the SHARE program will give priority to the less developed member states, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. "It's really significant to recognize that across ASEAN, the education systems are at different stages and level of maturity," said John Law, EU SHARE team leader. He added that they expected to see an increase in the opportunities for students in those countries.

The European Union spent 10 million Euro for the 4-year education project and will provide scholarship to 500 students. SHARE is a consortium led by the British Council with five other partners, Campus France, DAAD, EP-Nuffic, the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and the European University Association (EUA).

AMANDA SIDDHARTA