Minister Dharmendra Pradhan meets his Australian counterpart to discuss cooperation in education

New Delhi: Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart Jason Clare to boost the development of campuses that could operate in both countries. Pradhan is currently touring Australia to work on critical areas of interest in education.

In his discussion with Clarke, Pradhan spoke about the shared priorities of India and Australia in early childhood care, capacity building of teachers, and the potential for school twinning initiatives, the education ministry said in a release. “Building on the strong institutional linkages between Indian and Australian higher education institutions, they agreed to further strengthen the partnership in critical and emerging technologies. They also explored the possibility of establishing branch campuses of Australian universities in India,” the ministry said.

Pradhan also visited the South Melbourne Primary School to engage with young students, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and the Monash University. While at the Primary School, he explored the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) practices, at RMIT, he looked at their ‘Discovery to Device’ med-tech facility. At Monash University, which has had Indian students since the late 1960s, Pradhan toured the Innovation Lab and Center for Nanofabrication. He also said that Victoria is home to the largest Indian diaspora in Australia.