In the 8th BRICS meeting of Education Ministers which was held virtually, member countries shared their initiatives for online and blended education. A joint declaration was also signed by the 05 BRICS Education Ministers with the determination to reinforce the academic and research collaboration in higher education and TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training).

Held as a part of the 13th BRICS Summit, this 8th meeting was hosted by India. In the meeting, the Ministers contemplated on two themes -

• Enhancing research and academic collaboration.

• Leveraging digital and technological solutions to ensure equitable and inclusive quality education.

In order to enhance the academic and research collaboration, the ministers acknowledged the requirement to promote the mobility of students and faculty among partner states of BRICS, besides encouraging dual and joint degrees between BRICS countries' higher education institutions. They also recognized TVET as a priority for every BRICS country and indicated their responsibility to promote collaboration in these areas.

In order to support the digital and technological solutions to ensure quality inclusive education, the member states consented for the generation and expansion of their knowledge base which would help in formulating initiatives regarding this. The states also agreed to facilitate mechanism creation to permit sharing of knowledge and best practices with each other. These could include policy dialogues, seminars, interactions with experts, among others.

The meeting was chaired by the Union Minister of State for Education, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Sanjay Dhotre. He said that India recognizes the collective efforts being made by students, parents, teachers, governments and communities across the globe to alleviate the effects of the pandemic and restore a more resilient education system. He highlighted the importance of multilateral cooperation, especially among the BRICS nations, to harness education's full potential.

He further added that online learning and digital education delivery have surfaced as important means to achieve the development goals and targets of the education sector set by each BRICS country.

The BRICS Education Ministers also shared the initiatives and policies launched by each country to mitigate the COVID effects on education. Speaking for India, Dhotre informed about the initiatives under PM eVidya to provide access to quality education. He also spoke of SWAYAM PRABHA TV Channels, SWAYAM MOOCs platform, DIKSHA, and Virtual labs .