Education key driver for development, says Minister Murugan at G20 EdnWG

Education is the key driver for development, and a critical enabler for people's empowerment, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan said on Wednesday.

Education should keep pace with the changes driving the world today, he said. Owing to rapid transformation in recent years, what is needed is an education system that equips people, especially the more vulnerable ones, with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes required for productive and responsible lives, Murugan said.

"Every country in the world has evolved its own strategies for fulfilling this need. India launched its National Education Policy in 2020, under which many initiatives have been rolled out for making education more inclusive, accessible, affordable, relevant to emerging needs and of high quality," he said in his opening remarks at the G20 Education Working Group meeting here.

Some of these include addressing issues of early childhood care and education, preventing school dropout, introducing innovative pedagogies, focus on training teachers, making higher education multi-disciplinary and flexible, with focus on quality research, mainstreaming skill education, providing opportunities for lifelong learning, extensive use of technology to improve the teaching learning process, etc., he said.

"I am sure all G20 member countries have equally rich initiatives and enlightening experiences to share with each other. Such sharing will enrich all member countries to define future strategies for betterment of education, and strengthen our hands for collective action in this regard," the Minister said and added that India attached great importance to collaboration between G20 members in education and other fields.

As envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the aim of India's year-long G20 Presidency is to strive for just and equitable growth for all, in a sustainable, holistic, responsible, and inclusive manner. "This objective is enunciated by our theme of 'One Earth One Family One Future', and the Indian values of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," he said.

India Chair of G20 EdnWG K Sanjay Murthy, Indonesian co-chair Iwan Syahril, Brazilian co-chair Natalia Cabral de Rego Barros, delegates from the G20 and invited countries, representatives of UNESCO, UNICEF, and the OECD, participated in the first meeting.