India, Australia to set up joint education forum

India and Australia have agreed to constitute an India-Australia Education Council, which will bring together government, academia, business and industry of both the countries to further bilateral collaboration in the education sector.

The decision was taken at a meeting between Kapil Sibal, union minister of human resource development and Julia Gillard, deputy prime minister and minister of education, employment and workplace relations of Australia, in Melbourne on Friday.

The ministers also agreed upon a joint faculty development programme as also the organisation of a bilateral inter university convention of vice chancellors. These initiatives and an expanded education exchange programme that would include all levels of education are aimed at greater cooperation in the education field between the two countries.

Representatives from the education sector from the two countries also signed three memoranda of understanding (MoU) in the presence of the two ministers. These include an MoU between the Association of Indian Universities and Universities Australia, an MoU between the Central Board of Secondary Education and Australian Council of Education Research and an MoU between The Energy Research Institute (TERI) and Deakin University.

The two ministers also explored various ways to further the strategic partnership between India and Australia. Issues relating to the safety and well-being of Indian students in Australia and other related matters were also discussed.