The 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting held in Bhubaneswar (India) on August 7 concluded with the adoption of the BRICS Education Ministers’ Declaration, reaffirming education as a key pillar of BRICS cooperation and outlining a shared roadmap across five priority areas under India’s 2026 BRICS Chairship.
The meeting brought together education ministers, senior officials and delegates from all 10 BRICS member countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates—to deepen collaboration under the BRICS Education Track.
The meeting was part of ministerial meetings across various sectors during India’s BRICS Chairship, culminating in the 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026.
Five Priority Areas
The Declaration identified five key areas for enhanced cooperation among BRICS nations:
- Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN):
The ministers agreed to promote universal and inclusive access to quality early childhood education, strengthen school readiness, and encourage the use of age-appropriate digital technologies to support early learning. - Skill Development and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET):
The meeting recognised the role of the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance (BRICS-TCA) in advancing collaboration, including through the forthcoming Biennial Progress Report and the Compendium of Sustainable Skill Initiatives. It also welcomed India’s proposal to undertake an International Skill Gap Study, with participation by interested BRICS countries on a voluntary basis. - Research, Innovation and Start-up Ecosystems:
The ministers agreed to strengthen joint research, promote innovation-driven entrepreneurship, encourage the safe, ethical and human-centred use of Artificial Intelligence in education, and deepen collaboration among higher education institutions, researchers and start-up ecosystems. - Mutual Recognition of Qualifications (MRQ):
The Declaration called for meetings of the BRICS Working Group to advance discussions on a Memorandum of Understanding on the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications, aimed at facilitating greater academic mobility and educational cooperation across member countries. - Academic Leadership and Institutional Development:
The ministers supported the continued organisation of the BRICS Rectors’ Forum, faculty and leadership exchanges, scholarship programmes with a focus on STEM disciplines, and exploratory work towards developing 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. It further suggested that the BRICS Network University consider including traditional and indigenous knowledge systems as an additional International Thematic Group.
India’s Vision
Chairing the meeting, Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi reaffirmed India’s commitment to a people-centric and humanity-first approach to BRICS cooperation. Referring to India’s Chairship theme—“Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”—he said education systems must prepare young people for emerging opportunities while remaining firmly rooted in human values.
He emphasised that learners, teachers, researchers and youth should remain at the centre of policymaking and international cooperation. According to the minister, education is the foundation of inclusive growth and shared prosperity, and the adopted Declaration reflects the collective commitment of BRICS countries to deepen cooperation across the five priority areas.
Joshi also underscored the importance of preserving and promoting traditional and indigenous knowledge systems, observing that innovation and heritage are complementary rather than contradictory. He said the rich civilisational traditions of BRICS countries provide a unique opportunity to preserve traditional knowledge, study it rigorously and pass its value on to future generations.
Senior Officials’ Meeting
Ahead of the ministerial meeting, the Ministry of Education hosted the 3rd BRICS Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) under India’s BRICS Chairship on August 5 in Bhubaneswar. The officials reaffirmed the shared commitment of member countries to advancing inclusive, resilient and future-ready education systems through enhanced cooperation, innovation and knowledge exchange.
The ministerial declaration is expected to serve as the education roadmap for BRICS cooperation and feed into the deliberations at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi next month.
