Union minister of education, Dharmendra Pradhan, on Thursday expressed happiness at all G20 members having joined a consensus on all technical issues and having agreed to an ‘outcome document’ and ‘chair summary’. “We have seen very high-level participation from the G20 and guest countries. This is not only indicative of the impact of India’s G20 Presidency but is also a reflection of the global focus on education as a transformative pathway to achieving the Presidency’s goal of ‘One Earth, One family, One future’. I am glad to announce that all G20 members have joined a consensus on all the technical issues and have agreed to an outcome document and chair summary. The chair summary pertains to the geopolitical issues,” Pradhan said at a media briefing held after the G20 Education Ministers’ Meet held at the J W Marriott Hotel in Pune.
Elaborating on the four-day G20 meet held in Pune, Pradhan said, “All G20 members agreed on: the critical role that education plays as an enabler of human dignity and empowerment globally; and the need to work together for a resilient, equitable, inclusive and sustainable future through education. They also agreed on the need to ensure that everyone, irrespective of age, gender, socioeconomic or cultural background or those facing physical, mental or other learning difficulties/special needs have access to quality, inclusive and equitable education and training.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed the G20 Education Ministers’ Meet held in Pune via video message. The Ministry of Education, Government of India, successfully concluded the fourth and final meeting of the G20 Education Working Group (EdWG) in Pune. Around 80 delegates from G20 member-countries, invited countries, and international organisations (IOs) attended the EdWG meeting. The two-day meeting was chaired by Indian chair K Sanjay Murthy, secretary, higher education; with Sanjay Kumar, secretary, school education and literacy and Atul Kumar Tiwari, secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship as alternate chairs.
“While the G20 members have agreed that education is not only about academic learning but also about developing life, technical and vocational skills to make all learners future-ready. They also underlined the need for lifelong learning. Recognise the important role of digital transformation, women-led development, green transition and education for sustainable development and lifestyles (LiFE) as accelerators that can advance the progress towards the achievement of the SDGs,” Pradhan said.
The fourth EdWG meeting was preceded by a seminar on ‘Ensuring Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) especially in the context of blended learning’. The participants included several speakers from government, industry, academia and IOs who deliberated on matters related to FLN such as teaching-learning approaches and pedagogy, role of caregivers, capacity building and training of teachers in the context of multilingualism.
Additionally, a multimedia exhibition is underway at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) from June 17 to 22, 2023. With over 1.25 lakh attendees and more than 80 exhibitors, the exhibition provides an opportunity to showcase FLN-related initiatives. Notable participants from 28 states/union territories (UTs) in the exhibition include NCERT, IKS (Indian Knowledge System), Microsoft, Nipun Bharat initiative, Indonesia, UNICEF, UNESCO and many others.
