Australia-India Ministerial Dialogue on Education Cooperation
India and Australia today reaffirmed the commitment made by Prime Minister, Modi and his Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull in April 2017 to strengthen the education, training and research relationship between the two countries. This was emphasized in a Joint Communiqué issued after Bilateral meeting between visiting Indian Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar and host Australian Minister of Education and Training, Mr. Simon Birmingham in Adelaide, Australia today. It also emphasised on institutional partnership, collaboration in school policy, online education and skill development & vocational education and Training. HRD Minister, Shri Prakash Javadekar said that my discussion with Mr Birmingham has been fruitful and will take the India Australia education cooperation to a new level.
Education dialogue with Australia reaffirmed the commitment made by our PM @narendramodi & Australian PM @TurnbullMalcolm in April 2017, to strengthen the education, training & research relationship. #AIEC @ausind_edu @HCICanberra pic.twitter.com/D5MfOs7I4B
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) June 29, 2018
Three Institutional Agreements have also been signed in the presence of Indian HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and his Australian counterpart today. These agreements are Deakin University agreement with India’s Central Jammu University, Curtin University agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and Indian National Council of Education Research and Training and Western Sydney University MoU with India’s Centurion University.
Highlights:
- Both the Ministers witnessed the confirmation of institutional partnerships that will strengthen collaboration between the students, academics and universities of both the countries.
- The Ministers committed to increasing Australia –India academic mobility in Higher Education including increasing Australian participation in the successful Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) conducted by the Government of India.
- The Ministers underlined the importance of basic education. Australia and India will collaborate in schools policy through a partnership for reviewing school curriculum, teaching and learning.
- The Ministers noted the increasing interest in cross-border education and exchange of students, academics and researchers. India extended its welcome and assured joint support to the forthcoming India-Australia Conclave on International Education to be held in India in 2019.
- The two Ministers acknowledged the cooperation on targeted issues demonstrated by the AIEC’s Quality Assurance and Qualifications Recognition (QAQR) Working Group. It was agreed this policy work was paramount to encouraging a highly skilled and mobile workforce.
- The Ministers reaffirmed the key role played by professional and twenty-first-century skills to ensure graduates of our education systems are industry-ready. Australia and India will identify opportunities to engage in policy discussion on entrepreneurship education and are committed to strengthening the curricula at all levels of education for entrepreneurship and skill development.
- The Ministers committed to making effective use of ICT infrastructure to facilitate learning and share its e-learning platform(s) in higher education, schools and skills. Ministers committed to greater collaboration through online delivery of education, including India’s SWAYAM platform which is open to all Australian education providers.
- Ministers also acknowledged the valuable partnership between both nations on skills development and vocational education and training.
- Both the Ministers agreed that Australia-India Education Council has effectively displayed an overarching role in strengthening the Australia-India bilateral education, training and research relationship in both policy and program engagement.
It was proposed that the next meeting will be held in India in September 2019.
Source: PIB Mukhi Indian Diplomacy
