BRICS Education Ministers Back Five Priorities Under India’s Chairship

Skills development and Technical and Vocational Education and Training will receive greater attention through the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance.

BRICS countries have agreed on a shared education roadmap covering early learning, skills development, research, Artificial Intelligence and academic mobility, with the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting in Bhubaneswar concluding with the adoption of a joint declaration designed to deepen cooperation between member nations.

Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi chaired the meeting in Odisha, where ministers, senior officials and delegates from Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia, Iran, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates joined India for discussions under the BRICS Education Track. Joshi said India's approach to BRICS cooperation remains people-centric and humanity-first, placing learners, teachers, researchers and young people at the heart of education policy.

Early Learning and Skills Get Greater Attention

Strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy forms the first major pillar of the declaration, with BRICS members supporting wider and more inclusive access to quality early education while improving children's readiness for school.

Countries also backed the use of age-appropriate digital tools for early learning, recognising that technology can support education when it is designed around the developmental needs of children rather than simply introducing digital systems into classrooms.

Skills development and Technical and Vocational Education and Training will receive greater attention through the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance. India has also proposed an International Skill Gap Study, with interested BRICS countries able to participate voluntarily, which could help identify where education and training systems need to respond more closely to changing employment requirements.

AI and Joint Research Enter Education Roadmap

Research and innovation feature prominently in the declaration, with member countries supporting stronger collaboration between universities, researchers and startup ecosystems while creating more opportunities for joint research.

Artificial Intelligence will form part of this cooperation, with BRICS countries calling for its safe, ethical and human-centred use in education. The approach reflects the growing influence of AI on teaching, research and learning while recognising that technology needs safeguards when used in systems serving students and educators.

Joshi said education systems must prepare young people for emerging opportunities without losing sight of human values, linking the priorities to India's 2026 BRICS Chairship theme, "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."

Qualifications Could Become Easier to Recognise

Academic mobility received a boost through plans to continue discussions on Mutual Recognition of Qualifications, an area that could make it easier for students and professionals to have their educational credentials recognised across participating BRICS countries.

A dedicated Working Group will continue discussions around a Memorandum of Understanding on qualification recognition, while cooperation will also include faculty and academic leadership exchanges, scholarship programmes with a particular focus on STEM and continued organisation of the BRICS Rectors' Forum.

Member countries also encouraged exploratory work on a BRICS University Global Ranking and Evaluation System, potentially creating a new framework for assessing higher education institutions across the grouping.

Traditional Knowledge Added to Global Education Discussion

India used the meeting to place traditional and indigenous knowledge alongside technology and modern research, proposing BRICS Guiding Principles for stronger academic collaboration in these areas.

The BRICS Network University may consider adding traditional and indigenous knowledge systems as another International Thematic Group, creating opportunities for universities to study, document and share knowledge rooted in the diverse civilisations represented within BRICS.

Joshi said heritage and innovation can complement each other, with the traditional knowledge of BRICS nations offering valuable material for rigorous academic study and transmission to future generations.

The education meeting forms part of a wider programme of ministerial engagements being hosted during India's BRICS Chairship in 2026, leading towards the 18th BRICS Summit scheduled in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.