The 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting concluded in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, with the adoption of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Declaration. Union Minister for Education Shri Pralhad Joshi chaired the meeting and reaffirmed India's commitment to a people-centric and humanity-first approach to BRICS cooperation, aligning with India's BRICS Chairship 2026 theme of "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."
The declaration outlines a shared roadmap across five priority areas: strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) through universal and inclusive access to quality ECCE and age-appropriate digital solutions; strengthening cooperation in Skill Development and TVET through the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance, including India's initiative for an International Skill Gap Study with voluntary participation; enhancing research, innovation and start-up ecosystems through joint research, ethical AI use in education, and innovation-driven entrepreneurship; advancing Mutual Recognition of Qualifications (MRQ) through working group meetings toward a Memorandum of Understanding; and strengthening capacity building for academic leadership through BRICS Rectors' Forum, faculty exchanges, STEM-focused scholarships, and exploratory work toward a BRICS University Global Ranking System.
The meeting also welcomed India's initiative on BRICS Guiding Principles on Strengthening Academic Collaboration on Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge Systems, suggesting the BRICS Network University consider including traditional knowledge as an additional International Thematic Group. Ministers, senior officials, and delegates from Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia, Iran, Ethiopia, and United Arab Emirates attended. India will continue hosting BRICS Ministerial Meetings culminating in the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, 2026.