S O U T H E R N A S

S S D

44 The Journal of Adventist Education • Apri l /May 2015 http:// jae.adventist.org

The Southern Asia-Pacific Divi-sion (SSD) is comprised ofBangladesh, Brunei Darus-salam, Cambodia, Indonesia,Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the

Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka,Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, andPakistan. The SSD Education Depart-ment oversees approximately 13 per-cent of the church’s educational insti-tutions, with 864 elementary schools,115 secondary schools, and 20 tertiaryschools. SSD’s 999 schools employ7,758 teachers to train 103,158 studentsat all levels from pre-kindergartenthrough graduate school.

The church invests astoundingamounts of resources in terms of fund-ing and personnel for training of theyoung, in accord with the statement byEllen White that “Nothing is of greaterimportance than the education of ourchildren and young people” (Counselsto Parents, Teachers, and Students, p.165).

Growth in size and numbersThe past quinquennium (2010-

2015) demonstrates the growth of theSSD educational system. There was anincrease in the number of schools andthe number of personnel in our insti-tutions, but the enrollment decreasedrather sharply between 2010 and 2014.

Accreditation visits andBaptisms

This past quinquennium, the Edu-cation Department has been averaging31 accreditation visits every year, 26visits to secondary schools, and five toour colleges and universities. Our

schools have been averaging 4,463 bap-tisms every year, for a total of 22,313students baptized between 2010 and2014.

seminars, conferences, andconventions

During this past quinquennium,SSD held five regional teachers conven-tions for the various unions in its terri-tory. The three Philippine unions heldone convention each; the two Indone-sian unions held one at Indonesian Ad-ventist University in Bandung, WestJava, Indonesia; and Southeast AsiaUnion Mission (SAUM) hosted a con-vention for the nearby unions (Myan-mar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and theSAUM countries) at Asia-Pacific Inter-national University in Muak Lek, Thai-land.

The division also convened annualcouncils for college/university adminis-

Great Challenges,Even GreaterOpportunities

BY LAWRENCE L. DOMINGO a n d C A N A D I A N Z . P A N J A I T A N

“In him lie hidden allthe treasures of wisdomand knowledge”

(Colossians 2:3, NLT).*

I A - P A C I F I C D I V I S I O N

45http:// jae.adventist.org The Journal of Adventist Education • Apri l /May 2015

Above: Week of Prayercircles.

Right: Baptism of highschool students inIndonesia.

trators and union education directorsand for college and university boardchairs, as well as seminars on risk man-agement and school leadership. Morethan 100 secondary school principals,conference/mission superintendents,and other educational leaders fromthroughout the division participatedin a 2014 principals council in JohorBahru, Malaysia.

scholarshipsSSD’s commitment to quality Ad-

ventist education is demonstrated byits provision of four graduate-levelscholarship programs: bursary fundsfor college and university instructors,

educational aid funds for elementaryand secondary school teachers, and theLeadership Education and Develop-

ment (LEAD) Scholarship for pastorssupported by SSD funds allocated forthis purpose. A newly created under-

46 The Journal of Adventist Education • Apri l /May 2015 http:// jae.adventist.org

S O U T H E R N A S I A - P

Principals council in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

table 1. number of ssd personnel participating in Graduate-levelscholarship programs, by Year, 2010-2014

Year B.A./B.E./B.S. M.A./M.S./M.B.A. Ph.D. Total

2010 1 3 1 5

2011 6 69 5 80

2012 1 37 7 45

2013 0 5 5 10

2014 0 9 2 11

Total 8 123 20 151

graduate scholarship program will helpprepare future teachers for our churchschools and academies.

Table 1 shows the statistics of ourupgrading program. Since 2010, wehave had a yearly average of 28 individ-uals sponsored by the bursary fundsand an average of 136 sponsored by theeducational-aid fund. Many of the par-ticipants have completed their degrees.Since the LEAD Scholarships and theundergraduate scholarships just com-menced in 2014, the first class sessionsare expected to begin by the summer of2015.

challengesDuring this past quinquennium, the

number of SSD schools and teachershas increased. However, between 2010and 2014, the number of studentsshrank by 6.1 percent, from 109,000 to103,000, which has created financialchallenges for our institutions. Des -pite this difficulty, we continue tostrength en the educational programsof our institutions throughout the SSDterritory, as we see the tremendousopportunities to advance the GreatCommission through the ministry ofour schools.

opportunitiesEducation is a powerful evangelistic

tool of the church. The SSD schoolsproduce many thousands of baptisms

each year. We have strengthened theGrades 1-10 Bible curriculum, so thatthe spiritual climate of our schools willcombine nurture and outreach. Ouraccreditation visits monitor the spiri-tual programs of the schools to ensurethat they are distinctly Adventist andprepare the young people for leader-ship, both in the church and in theirchosen disciplines.

closing thoughtsColossians 2:3 calls attention to the

focus of true education: “In him [JesusChrist] lie hidden all the treasures ofwisdom and knowledge” (NLT).That’s what sets Seventh-day Adventisteducation apart from secular educa-tion. Jesus is the center of all classroominstruction, school programs, and ac-tivities in all our educational institu-tions. This is indeed the hallmark ofAdventist education!

*Bible texts credited to NLT are quoted fromthe New Living Translation copyright © 1996,2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Usedby permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc.,Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Lawrence L. Do -mingo, Ed.D., isDirector of Educa-tion for the South-ern Asia-PacificDivision of Sev-enth-day Adventistsin Silang, Cavite,Philippines.

Canadian Z. Pan-jaitan, Ph.D., is As-sociate Director ofEducation for theSouthern Asia-Pacific Division.

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47http:// jae.adventist.org The Journal of Adventist Education • Apri l /May 2015

A C I F I C D I V I S I O N

Welcome ceremony for the Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools,Colleges, and Universities team visitors.