G20 Education Working Group’s 4th Meeting Wraps Up Successful Two-Day Meeting in Pune

The Ministry of Education, Government of India, successfully wrapped up the fourth and final meeting of the G20 Education Working Group (EdWG) in Pune. The two-day meeting brought together approximately 80 delegates from G20 Members, invited countries, and international organizations (IOs).

Chaired by K. Sanjay Murthy, Secretary Higher Education, and supported by Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, School Education and Literacy, and Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship as Alternate Chairs, the meeting also saw the presence of Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Chief Coordinator of India’s G20 Presidency, Government of India, on the first day.

K. Sanjay Murthy expressed his gratitude to the G20 delegates for their invaluable contributions to all the outcome documents and their active engagement throughout the process. He underscored 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 conducted within the education working group track over the past several months.

During the 4th EdWG, the G20 delegates commended the sustained efforts of the Indian G20 Presidency in developing the EdWG report and Compendium. These outcome documents will serve as a roadmap for the international community, providing guidance for coordinated actions to ensure inclusive and high-quality education for all learners.

The EdWG track aligned with the Indian G20 Presidency’s theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth One Family One Future,” seeking inclusive solutions and collective actions to address the diverse global challenges of today. It focused on four priority areas: ensuring foundational literacy and numeracy, particularly 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.

These meetings provided an opportunity to collectively agree on actions for accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fostering synergies between the G20 nations in these priority areas.

Before the 4th EdWG meeting, a seminar on “Ensuring Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (FLN) especially in the context of blended learning” took place. The participants included speakers from the government, industry, academia, and IOs who deliberated on FLN-related matters such as teaching and learning approaches, pedagogy, the role of caregivers, and capacity building and training of teachers in the context of multilingualism.

Furthermore, a multimedia exhibition is being held at Savitribai Phule Pune University from June 17th to 22nd, 2023. With over 125,000 attendees and more than 80 exhibitors, the exhibition offers an opportunity to showcase initiatives related to foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN). Notable participants from 28 States/UTs in the exhibition include NCERT, IKS (Indian Knowledge System), Microsoft, Nipun Bharat initiative, Indonesia, UNICEF, UNESCO, and many others.