27-28 February 2017, Manila, Philippines – The Regional Fit for School Program held its 2nd Regional Steering Committee Meeting. The event was hosted by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH) and was attended by technical government officials from the four partner countries of the Regional Fit for School Program: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR and Philippines. The event was also graced by Dr. Gatot Hari Priowirjanto, Director of the SEAMEO Secretariat and by Dr. Ramon C. Bacani, Director of SEAMEO INNOTECH.
The Regional Steering Committee Meeting served as a mid-term review for the Regional Fit for School Program, which has started its upscaling phase on December 1, 2015 and will continue until November 30, 2018. The event brought together relevant stakeholders from the regional level (SEAMES, SEAMEO INNOTECH and GIZ) and from partner countries (Cambodia Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, West Java Provincial Office in Indonesia, Lao PDR Ministry of Education and Sports and Philippine Department of Education), in order to share recent developments and progress on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools (WinS) and to provide support and guidance.
Highlights of the event included, amongst others, country presentations, marketplace showcases on research conducted by the regional team, consultation sessions between the countries and the signing of the cooperation agreement between the West Java Education Office, SEAMEO INNOTECH and GIZ.
The event showed countries making significant progress in upscaling and institutionalizing the Fit for School approach. The Cambodian MOEYS, through the support of various NGOs and development partners, has scaled up the Fit for School approach in approx. 536 schools. In Lao PDR, the MoES has scaled up the program in about 370 schools across all provinces of the country. In the City of Bandung in West Java (Indonesia), the Provincial Office is in the process of integrating the WinS monitoring system (POROS) into the city monitoring system for education indicators (SIMDIK). The Philippines, furthermore, has now been rolling out the policy on Comprehensive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in schools nationwide.