A meeting of the education ministers of G20 countries held in Pune agreed to equitable and inclusive use of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ in education and skilling that respects human rights. All G20 members also agreed to the critical role that education plays as an enabler of human dignity and empowerment globally.
An outcome statement of the meeting said the G20 members have agreed on the need to work together for a resilient, equitable, inclusive and sustainable future through education.
“All G20 members agreed on the need to ensure that everyone irrespective of age, gender, socio-economic or cultural background or those who are facing physical, mental or other learning difficulties or special needs have access to quality, inclusive and equitable education and training.
All G20 members agreed that education is not only about academic learning, but also about developing life, technical and vocational skills to make all learners future ready. They also underlined the need for lifelong learning,” the statement said.
The meeting recognised the important role of digital transformations, women-led development, green transition and education on sustainable development and lifestyles (LiFE) as accelerators that can advance the progress towards the achievement of sustainable development goals.
“We also reiterated our commitment to overcome the digital divide for all learners by addressing the barriers to technological infrastructure. We agreed on the need to work collectively to develop technology ecosystems and learning resources, including in local languages, that are affordable and easily accessible. We agreed to equitable and inclusive use of Artificial Intelligence in education and skilling that respects human rights,” the statement said.
In a video message to the G20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said to make the youth future ready, governments need to continuously skill, re-skill and up-skill them. “We need to align their competencies with evolving work profiles and practices. In India, we are undertaking skill mapping. Our Education, Skill and Labour Ministries are working in tandem on this initiative. G-20 countries can undertake skill mapping at the global level, and find gaps that need to be plugged,” he said.
