Union Minister for Education Reaffirms India’s Commitment to a People-Centric and Humanity-First Approach to BRICS Cooperation

Bhubaneswar:7/8/26: Union Minister for Education Shri Pralhad Joshi today reaffirmed India’s commitment to a people-centric and humanity-first approach to BRICS cooperation. He was chairing the 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting, which concluded in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, with the adoption of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Declaration.

Reiterating India’s commitment to working closely with all the BRICS partners, the Union Minister expressed confidence that the momentum generated during the Meeting would translate into meaningful action. Referring to India’s BRICS Chairship 2026, theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” the Minister said that education systems must prepare young people for emerging opportunities while remaining firmly rooted in human values. He added that learners, teachers, researchers and young people should remain at the centre of policymaking and international cooperation.

Shri Joshi remarked that education was the foundation of inclusive growth and shared prosperity, and that the adopted Declaration reflected the collective commitment of BRICS nations to strengthen cooperation across the five priority areas. He also stressed the importance of preserving and promoting traditional and indigenous knowledge systems, observing that innovation and heritage complement one another. He noted that the rich civilisational traditions of BRICS nations presented a unique opportunity to preserve traditional knowledge, study it rigorously, and pass on its value to future generations.

The Minister also highlighted Odisha’s rich legacy as an ancient centre of learning and reflected on India’s enduring civilizational values of “Atithi Devo Bhava” and “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. He emphasised that while nations may differ in their traditions and experiences, their progress was interconnected.

Ministers, senior officials and delegates from BRICS member countries, including Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia, Iran, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, attended the Meeting aimed at advancing cooperation under the BRICS Education Track.

The adoption of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Declaration reaffirmed education as a key pillar of BRICS cooperation and outlined a shared roadmap across five priority areas identified under India’s Chairship. The outcomes are as follows:

1. Strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN): It was agreed to promote universal and inclusive access to quality ECCE, strengthen school readiness, and encourage the use of age-appropriate digital solutions for early learning.
2. Strengthening Cooperation in Skill Development and TVET: The role of the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance (BRICS-TCA) in advancing collaboration was recognised, including through the forthcoming Biennial Progress Report and Compendium of Sustainable Skill Initiatives. The Declaration also acknowledged India’s initiative to undertake an International Skill Gap Study, with participation by interested BRICS members voluntarily.
3. Enhancing Research, Innovation and Start-up Ecosystems: It was agreed to promote joint research, encourage the safe, ethical and human-centred use of Artificial Intelligence in education, strengthen innovation-driven entrepreneurship, and deepen collaboration among higher education institutions, researchers and start-up ecosystems.
4. Advancing Mutual Recognition of Qualifications (MRQ): It was agreed to convene meetings of the Working Group to carry forward deliberations on a Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Recognition of Qualifications, with a view to facilitating greater academic mobility and cooperation.
5. Strengthening Capacity Building for Academic Leadership and Institutional Development: Continued organisation of the BRICS Rectors’ Forum, faculty and leadership exchanges, scholarship programmes with a focus on STEM, and exploratory work towards a BRICS University Global Ranking and Evaluation System were encouraged.
6. The Meeting also welcomed India’s initiative on the BRICS Guiding Principles on Strengthening Academic Collaboration on Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge Systems and suggested that the BRICS Network University may consider the inclusion of traditional and indigenous knowledge systems as an additional International Thematic Group.

The Ministry of Education also hosted the 3rd BRICS Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) under India’s BRICS chairship 2026, on August 5, 2026, in Bhubaneswar. The discussions reaffirmed the shared commitment of member countries towards advancing inclusive, resilient and future-ready education systems through greater cooperation, innovation and knowledge exchange.

India will continue to host BRICS Ministerial Meetings across various sectors during its Chairship, culminating in the 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026.