Banjarmasin, Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM) in South Kalimantan and Saint Louis University (SLU), Philippines agreed to carry out the SEA Teacher Program by exchanging students to provide practical teaching experience in their respective countries’ schools to strengthen ASEAN cooperation. “This program will start on September 1 2023 to September 28 2023,” said ULM Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ahmad Alim Bachri, SE., M.Si in Banjarmasin, Saturday. In the agreement, ULM as the best state university (PTN) in Kalimantan with A accreditation sent one student from the Mathematics Education Study Program and one English Education Study Program to the Philippines. Meanwhile, SLU sent one Social Sciences Department student and one English Department student to Indonesia.

The Chancellor said the SEA Teacher Program is a superior program that adds to the experience of ULM students abroad and vice versa. Students are expected to be able to feel the academic atmosphere that exists in other countries, including seeing the education system and local culture which will provide additional knowledge. Alim also admitted that the collaboration with SLU was an honor because the campus in Baguio City is the best private university in the Philippines, which currently has around 30,000 students. “SLU, one of the oldest universities in the Philippines, was founded in 1911, of course this fact is similar to ULM which is the oldest and largest campus in Kalimantan which has 40 thousand students,” he explained.

It is known that the SEA Teacher Program was initiated by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), an organization involving countries in Southeast Asia to promote cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture in member countries.