G-20 Education Working Group meeting concludes emphasising 4 priority areas

G20 delegates appreciated the sustained efforts of the Indian G20 presidency towards developing the EdWG report and Compendium.

The two-day 4th meeting of the G-20 Education Working Group under Indian Presidency concluded in Pune. All the participating countries appreciated the sustained efforts by Indian Presidency for developing the outcome documents. The Ministry of Education, Government of India, had organised it with about 80 delegates from G20 members and invited countries and international organisations attended the EdWG meeting.

It was chaired by 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. The meeting was also attended by the Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Chief Coordinator, India’s G20 Presidency, Government of India on day one.

On this occasion, Murthy expressed his appreciation to the G20 delegates for their valuable contributions to all the outcome documents and their active engagement throughout the process. He also emphasized the significance of their efforts and highlighted the upcoming ministerial meeting on June 22, 2023, where, the ministers will formally accept the outcome documents, marking the culmination of the extensive deliberations carried out over the past several months within the education working group track.

During the meeting, G20 delegates appreciated the sustained efforts of the Indian G20 presidency towards developing the EdWG report and Compendium. These outcome documents will serve as a roadmap for the international community, guiding coordinated actions to ensure inclusive and high-quality education for all learners.

It is worth-noting here that the EdWG track is aligned with the Indian G20 Presidency’s theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. Its objective was to find out inclusive solutions and collective actions to address the diverse global challenges of the day during the past 4 meetings.

The meeting also emphasised on 4 priority areas including ensuring foundational literacy and numeracy, especially in the context of blended learning, making tech-enabled learning more inclusive, qualitative and collaborative, building capacities and promoting lifelong learning in the context of the future of work and strengthening research and fostering innovation through enhanced collaboration and partnerships.

The meetings were an opportunity to collectively agree on actions for accelerating achievement of the SDGs and foster synergies between the G20 nations towards these priority areas.

The 4th EdWG meeting was preceded by a seminar on ‘Ensuring Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (FLN) especially in 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 context of Multilingualism.

A multimedia exhibition is being held at Savitribai Phule Pune University from 17th-22nd June 2023. With over 1.25 lakh attendees and 80+ exhibitors. The exhibition provides an opportunity to showcase FLN related initiatives. Notable participants from 28 states and UTs in the exhibition include NCERT, IKS (Indian Knowledge System), Microsoft, Nipun Bharat initiative, Indonesia, UNICEF, UNESCO and many others.