HANOI : Thailand and the Philippines will sign a teacher exchange agreement in the next two months.

Phongthep: ‘Fifty teachers coming’

Details of the agreement were finalised at a recent bilateral meeting, held on the sidelines of the 47th Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (Seameo) Council Conference that ended on Thursday in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanchana said Armin Luistro, secretary of the Philippines' Education Department, had assured him that the first batch of 50 English-speaking teachers would be sent to teach in Thai secondary schools on one-year deployments once the agreement is signed.

Thai teachers will later be sent to Filipino schools to learn new teaching methods there.

Mr Phongthep said the ministry has yet to decide on how many Thai teachers will be sent, as it will depend on the Philippines' demand.

"It is mutually beneficial. Thai students will learn English from our teachers and Filipino teachers can learn Thai culture and then share that knowledge with others when they return," Mr Luistro said.

"They will bring something home, and they might also learn to cook tom yum kung."

The exchange of students, teachers and the sharing of education standards is one of Seameo's missions to support Asean integration, he added.