India and Australia signed a Framework Mechanism for Mutual Recognition of Qualifications that will help ease the mobility of students and professionals between the two countries. The agreement was signed following a bilateral meeting in New Delhi today between India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the Australian Education Minister Jason Clare. This agreement is part of the commitment by Prime Ministers of both countries at the 2nd India-Australia Virtual Summit held on March 21, 2022, wherein they had agreed to establish a Joint Taskforce for mutual recognition of qualifications.
A Task Force was accordingly set up consisting of senior officials of education and skill ministries and regulators on both sides. It has come up with a comprehensive mechanism that covers both education and skill qualifications of the two countries and will help facilitate two way mobility of young people for education and employment purposes by mutually recognizing various levels of education and skill qualifications.
While addressing media, Pradhan said that Australia and India are aligned to making the knowledge pillar a key aspect of the bilateral relationship. He informed that both the countries agreed to create new frameworks of partnership to take our bilateral relations to new heights. He expressed his happiness that, as suggested by India, the scope of Australia India Education Council (AIEC) has been widened to also include cooperation in skill development. Pradhan also invited Minister for the 7th Australia India Education and Skill Council (AIESC) meeting to be held in September and for the G20 Education Ministers’ Meeting in June this year.
Following NEP 2020, India has come up with new initiatives for promoting internationalization of education that include regulations for Joint/ Dual/ Twinning degrees and a draft regulation for setting up campuses of foreign universities in India. In addition, GIFT City in Gujarat has been opened up to foreign universities free from domestic regulations. Australian universities are actively exploring establishing campuses in GIFT City.
A number of institutional level MOUs were also exchanged between India and Australia’s university sectors today, which will promote research and academic collaborations between the two countries in several key sectors.