Ministry of Education to host the 4th Working Group meeting in Pune from June 19-22

New Delhi [India], June 12 : The Ministry of Education is all set to host the fourth and final Education Working Group (EDWG) meeting in Pune, Maharashtra from June 19 to 22, 2023 under the theme of "Ensuring Foundation Literacy and Numeracy, especially in the context of blended learning" and culminate with the Education Ministerial meeting on June 22, 2023.

Secretary, Higher Education, K Sanjay Murthy; Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Sanjay Kumar and Secretary, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Atul Kumar Tiwari on Monday interacted with the media at the curtain raiser press conference and briefed on the upcoming G20 4th Education Working Group meeting, Ministerial Meeting, Jan Bhagidari events and precursor events to be held in Pune.

Sanjay Murthy informed that like the previous meetings, a seminar will be preceding the main EdWG Meeting and it will be based on the priority area of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.

He further informed that at the moment, countries such as Spain, Australia, Indonesia, US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China and the UK have all expressed their interest in the topic of the seminar and will be participating as panellists.

According to the Ministry, "As of date, 14 ministers have confirmed participation in the ministerial meeting from the following nations: the UK, Italy, Brazil, China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Singapore, Oman, Mauritius, Japan, Bangladesh, Egypt, UAE and the Netherlands."

He explained that as a precursor to the G20 EdWG meeting, the Department of Higher Education is organising a seminar in collaboration with ELSEVIER on June 16 at IISER, Pune. The seminar will be held on the theme 'Accessible Science: Fostering collaboration'.

"This event will convene stakeholders across the scientific community to discuss best practices for accessible science, how accessible science can be applied across individual nations with differing local capacities, and ways to utilize science practices to support global progress," added Murthy.

Murthy also informed that the Education Working Group meeting will conclude with the Ministerial Meeting, which will witness the participation of Education Ministers from G20 members and invited countries.

Outcome documents such as a compendium of best practices amongst nations in the priority areas, a report and the ministerial declaration will be presented at the Ministerial Meeting.

Sanjay Kumar was informed about the various precursor events being organised by the Department of School Education and Literacy. As a run-up to the main event, a 2-day National Conference on Foundation Literacy and Numeracy, 'Creating the Base for Lifelong Learning' will be organised from 17th to 18th June at Savitribai Phule University, Pune.

The conference will help identify and discuss the best practices states are adopting in creating an environment that facilitates foundational literacy and numeracy in young learners, the release stated.

He also informed that the objective of the conference is to reflect on two important themes - teaching-learning approaches and pedagogy for FLN in the context of Multilingualism and capacity building and training of teachers in blended mode.

"The Experts from various fields have been invited to share their experiences and learning with the audience to identify the areas of joint initiatives, cross-learning and the challenges in the implementation. Representatives from the Education Departments of all States & UTs in India, Knowledge partners of the Government of India (UNESCO and UNICEF) and civil society agencies will be participating in this event," he added.

Kumar further informed that, concurrently, an exhibition will be inaugurated on June 17 at Savitribai Phule University, Pune. It will showcase innovative practices being adopted in education and FLN, Digital initiatives, Research and Skill Development, in particular by the States, UTs and other agencies in the field of education Around 100 exhibitors will be participating in the exhibition.

He further said that lifelong learning begins when Foundational Literacy ends.

He also informed that to involve people from all strata of life, numerous activities, including Janbhagidari events, workshops, exhibitions, seminars and conferences have already been started from 1st June 2023 at State, District, Block, Panchayat and school levels involving people from all strata of life in the run-up to the fourth Education Working Group Meeting of G20.

"The entire program is turning out to be a huge success and has already witnessed a total participation of more than 2.33 crore including 1.57 crore students, 25.46 lakh teachers and 51.10 lakh people from the community till Day 12, which is not only unprecedented but also reflects a high level of interest and engagement among masses," added the release.

Atul Kumar Tiwari informed about the success of Jan Bhagidari in Odisha and said a similar campaign is being held based on a set of pre-identified 35 themes such as financial literacy in the lead-up to the 4th EdWG meeting.

Tiwari informed that MSDE has been able to mobilise 2300 skill-based institutions such as ITIs, JSS, PMKK, Polytechnic, Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship and some schools, colleges and universities and have witnessed 10 lakhs plus participation in Jan Bhagidari activities ranging from webinars, workshops, skill quizzes to awareness programs, rallies from across the country.

Tiwari said that MSDE has been constantly working with the Ministry of Education towards the Education working group meetings.

In addition to this, the Ministry of Education has launched a pledge titled 'Shiksha Sankalp' on the portal to encourage students, teachers and the general public to pledge to pursue education and lifelong learning to contribute towards the progress of the nation and to keep on developing skills and knowledge to become a responsible citizen of India. More than 1.5 lakh people have taken the pledge so far in less than a week's time, the Ministry release read.

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