Bhubaneswar: The 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting concluded in Bhubaneswar with member nations adopting a joint Declaration outlining the group’s shared education roadmap.
Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi chaired the meeting and reaffirmed India’s commitment to a people-centric and humanity-first approach to BRICS cooperation, according to an official statement.
Joshi said the momentum generated during the meeting would translate into meaningful action. Referring to India’s BRICS Chairship 2026 theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” he said education systems must prepare young people for emerging opportunities while staying rooted in human values.
He added that learners, teachers, researchers and young people should remain central to policymaking and international cooperation.
Calling education the foundation of inclusive growth and shared prosperity, Joshi said the adopted Declaration reflected the collective commitment of BRICS nations to strengthen cooperation across five priority areas.
He also stressed the importance of preserving traditional and indigenous knowledge systems, noting that innovation and heritage complement each other. He said the civilisational traditions of BRICS nations offered a unique opportunity to preserve and study traditional knowledge and pass its value to future generations.
The minister highlighted Odisha’s legacy as an ancient centre of learning and referred to India’s civilisational values of “Atithi Devo Bhava” and “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.” He said that while nations differ in their traditions and experiences, their progress remains interconnected.
Ministers, senior officials and delegates from Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia, Iran, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates attended the meeting, held to advance cooperation under the BRICS Education Track.
Five priority areas outlined in the Declaration:
On early childhood care and education, members agreed to promote universal and inclusive access to quality Early Childhood Care and Education, strengthen school readiness, and encourage the use of age-appropriate digital solutions for early learning under the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy goals.
On skill development, the Declaration recognised the role of the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance in advancing collaboration, including through its forthcoming Biennial Progress Report and Compendium of Sustainable Skill Initiatives, and it also acknowledged India’s initiative to undertake an International Skill Gap Study, with participation from interested BRICS members voluntarily.
On research and innovation, members agreed to promote joint research, encourage the safe, ethical and human-centred use of Artificial Intelligence in education, strengthen innovation-driven entrepreneurship, and deepen collaboration among higher education institutions, researchers and start-up ecosystems.
On mutual recognition of qualifications, members agreed to convene meetings of the Working Group to carry forward deliberations on a Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Recognition of Qualifications, with a view to facilitating greater academic mobility and cooperation.
On capacity building for academic leadership, the meeting encouraged the continued organisation of the BRICS Rectors’ Forum, faculty and leadership exchanges, scholarship programmes with a focus on STEM, and exploratory work towards a BRICS University Global Ranking and Evaluation System.
The meeting also welcomed India’s initiative on the BRICS Guiding Principles on Strengthening Academic Collaboration on Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and suggested that the BRICS Network University may consider including traditional and indigenous knowledge systems as an additional International Thematic Group.
