Dharmendra Pradhan, Union minister for education, skill development and entrepreneurship has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with H.E. Ahmad Al Falasi, the minister of education of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), during a visit to Abu Dhabi. This MoU is aimed at bolstering ongoing educational collaborations, making it easier for students and faculty to exchange ideas and resources and promoting various other educational initiatives. Pradhan also took the opportunity to tour the 42 Abu Dhabi school for disruptive learning. His three-day visit to the UAE is dedicated to fostering cooperation, enhancing participation and creating synergies in critical areas of shared interest within the realms of education and skill development, according to an official release.
The primary objective of the MoU is to enhance the current collaboration between educational institutions in both countries. This enhancement will be achieved through various means, including enabling the movement of students and faculty, fostering joint research programmes, developing courses, as well as coordinating and participating in conferences, lectures, symposia, courses, scientific and educational exhibitions that pertain to mutual areas of interest and are hosted in both nations, as per the release.
The ministers conducted a comprehensive review of their bilateral collaborations in the fields of education and skill development. They specifically assessed the advancements related to the topics discussed during their meeting on the sidelines of the 4th Education Working Group (EdWG) as part of the G20 India initiative. Both ministers expressed contentment with the headway made in areas such as the mutual recognition of academic and skill qualifications and the recognition of Indian educational institutions in the UAE, among other achievements, the release mentioned.
The MoU aims to enable the establishment of a Joint Working Group (JWG), which will be overseen by a representative from the Ministry of Education in both India and the UAE. This JWG is scheduled to convene at least once annually, with the meetings taking place alternately in each country. During these meetings, the JWG will assess and oversee the execution of the provisions outlined in the MoU, it added.
“A first-of-its-kind school in the GCC, 42 Abu Dhabi’s thrust on removing barriers to education for realising the vision of a tech-enabled future is laudatory. Open 24/7 all throughout the year, it provides perfect flexibility to learners to also learn and earn as per their schedules. Flexibility and learning while earning is also a key recommendation of NEP 2020. Incorporating such progressive pathways is a way forward to empower India’s talented youth and workforce, Pradhan said.
