By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, NOV 02, 2023: UNION Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan yesterday met Minister of Education UAE, Dr. Ahmad Al Falasi in Abu Dhabi. The Ministers signed an MoU to strengthen existing educational cooperation facilitating student and faculty mobility and various other initiatives. The Minister also visited 42 Abu Dhabi, a School for Disruptive Learning. The Minister is on a 3-day visit to UAE. The visit will be fostering collaboration, participation and synergy in critical areas of mutual interest in the education and the skill domain.

During his meeting with his UAE counterpart, Pradhan said that UAE being a Global Economic hotspot and India being a Global Talent hotspot, both sides should work together to build a knowledge bridge to cement our civilizational connect.

The Ministers reviewed the bilateral engagements in education and skill development, particularly the progress on points discussed during our meeting on the sidelines of the 4th EdWG as a part of the G20 India. They expressed satisfaction on the progress made with respect to mutual recognition of academic and skill qualifications, recognition of Indian institutes in the UAE among others and underscored the need for continued work in this area. The Ministers expressed their commitment to strengthen institutional mechanisms and speed up processes for smooth student and workforce mobility.

Dharmendra Pradhan thanked H.E Dr. Ahmed Belhoul for the support to schools that follow India curriculum in the UAE. Also, discussed ways to facilitate student exchange programs between India and the UAE.

During the meeting, a significant MoU was signed by the Ministers. The MoU aims to strengthen the existing cooperation in the field of educational institutions in both countries, by facilitating student and faculty mobility, joint research programmes, designing courses, organising and participation in conferences, lectures, symposia, courses, scientific and educational exhibitions in areas of mutual interest held in both countries.

- It will also facilitate in exchange of information in the following areas:

- Regulations, legal structures and best practices in general and higher education in both countries.

- Framework and policies in general and higher education including national qualifications frameworks in order to facilitate mutual recognition of qualifications between both the countries.

- Frameworks, policies in the areas of gifted and talented skills development and counselling and well-being.

- Facilitation of academic collaboration between Higher Education Institutions in both the countries for offering Twinning, Joint Degree and Dual Degree Programmes.

- Cooperation in the field of Capacity Development of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) teaching staff has been envisaged under this MoU.

- MoU will facilitate creation of a Joint Working Group is chaired by a representative of the Ministry of Education from India and UAE. The JWG shall meet at least once a year alternately to review the implementation of this memorandum.

Pradhan also visited 42 Abu Dhabi, a coding school with deep focus on encouraging innovation, creativity and peer-to-peer learning through project-based and gamified curriculum. Pradhan said that 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. He highlighted that 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, he added.

Pradhan had an insightful interaction with students and faculty at Abu Dhabi Indian School (ADIS). Pradhan said that one of the largest schools in Abu Dhabi catering to the Indian community, ADIS is nurturing Indian students and instilling in them the culture, values and ethos of both India and the UAE. These students are future global citizens and ambassadors of India and its civilisational ethos, he added.

Later in the evening, the Minister interacted with members of Odia Community. He received a warm welcome from the Indian diaspora in UAE.