PM Modi calls upon G20 countries to create path for increased research collaborations
Jun 22, 2023Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that education is not only the foundation upon which our civilization has been built, but it is also the architect of humanity's future. Mr Modi emphasized that foundational literacy forms a strong base for the youth and India is combining it with technology. Prime Minister was addressing the G20 Education Ministers’ Meet in Pune via video message today.
The Prime Minister said, G20 countries with their respective strengths can play a key role in promoting research and innovation, especially among the Global South. Mr Modi urged all to create a path for increased research collaborations. He expressed confidence that the group will come out with an inclusive, action-oriented and future-ready education agenda. Mr Modi highlighted the ‘National Initiative for Proficiency in reading with Understanding and Numeracy'', or ‘Nipun Bharat’ initiative by the Government and expressed happiness that ‘Foundational Literacy and Numeracy’ has been identified as a priority by G20 as well.
Prime Minister also stressed working on it in a time-bound manner by 2030. Mr Modi emphasized the need to adapt and use new e-learning innovatively and said that the objective must be to provide quality education with better governance. He highlighted the several initiatives taken by the Government in this direction and mentioned ‘Study Webs of Active-learning for Young Aspiring Minds’, or ‘Swayam’, an online platform that hosts all courses from Class 9 to the post-graduate level and enables students to learn remotely while focussing on access, equity and quality.
With over 34 million enrolments and more than 9000 courses, it has become a very effective learning tool, Prime Minister added. He also mentioned the ‘Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing’ or ‘Diksha Portal’ which aims to deliver school education through distance learning. Mr Modi informed that it supports learning in 29 Indian and 7 foreign languages and has witnessed over 137 million course completions so far. He also pointed out that India would be happy to share these experiences and resources, particularly with those in the Global South.
Underlining the need to make our youth future-ready by continuously skilling, reskilling and up-skilling them, the Prime Minister emphasized aligning their competencies with evolving work profiles and practices. In India, the Prime Minister added, we are undertaking skill mapping where the Education, Skill and Labour Ministries are working in tandem on this initiative. Mr Modi also suggested that G-20 countries can undertake skill mapping at the global level and find gaps that need to be plugged in.
Most Recent
