Ahead of the next week’s India-U.S. education dialogue, the United States Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said there is chance to provide a much better education for thousands of young people in India.
“I think the challenges India faces dwarf — make ours look relatively simple. But I think there’s a chance to provide a much better education for hundreds and hundreds and thousands of young people in India,” Mr. Duncan told reporters at a White House news conference.
“Whatever we can do to help as they build the next system of community colleges, as they scale up what’s working, as American institutions start to set up campuses in India, we want to be a great partner,” he said.
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“I just absolutely believe that a rising tide lifts all boats. And the more young people across India are getting a world-class education, that’s a great thing for your country and for ours as well,” Mr. Duncan said in response to a question.
The Education Secretary praised his Indian counterpart, Kapil Sibal, HRD Minister.
“We have a great working relationship with my counterpart in India. He is a man, I think, of tremendous vision and courage,” Mr. Duncan said.
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Next week, Mr. Sibal and the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would host the next round of India-U.S. Education Dialogue. The Education Summit will focus on two key areas: advanced research and innovation and workforce development, specifically, community colleges, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said on Monday.
“With respect to higher education collaboration, I am delighted that we will announce during the dialogue the first eight partnership projects to be funded jointly by the United States and India through the Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative.
These three-year, approximately quarter-million dollar grants will be used for joint projects between American and Indian universities in the areas of food security, energy, climate change and public health, among others,” Mr. Blake said.