Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the DepEd Philippines is using international teacher exchange to strengthen the skills of Filipino educators and improve classroom learning across the country.
Angara on Thursday highlighted the Korea-Philippines Teacher Exchange Programme, or KPTEP, saying the initiative helps Filipino teachers develop global competencies through professional training, intercultural learning, and direct collaboration with educators from South Korea.
“President Bongbong Marcos has always prioritized the global competitiveness of our labor force, and empowering our teachers is the first step toward achieving that goal,” Angara said.
The KPTEP has been implemented since 2012 and is carried out through DepEd’s partnership with the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding.
DepEd said the program promotes intercultural communicative competence, mutual understanding, and stronger education ties between the Philippines and South Korea. It also forms part of the government’s broader push to uphold teacher welfare and raise the quality of basic education.
“Through international cooperation programs like this, we are able to equip our instructional leaders with world-class competencies that directly benefit our learners,” Angara said.
Around 330 educators have participated in the program so far. This includes about 190 Filipino teacher delegates deployed to South Korea and around 140 Korean teacher delegates welcomed in the Philippines.
For DepEd, the exchange program is not only about teacher exposure abroad. It is also a way to bring global teaching practices, cross-cultural experience, and stronger professional networks back into Philippine classrooms, where students are expected to benefit from better-trained and more globally prepared educators.
