Bhubaneswar: The 3rd meeting of the Education Working Group will be held in Bhubaneswar from April 27-28 and the precursor events to the G20 Education Working Group Meetings would be held from April 23-26. A special exhibition on the theme of “Future of Work” will be organised and will be open to the public between April 23 and 25 and then on April 27 and 28, said Higher Education Secretary, Government of India, K Sanjay Murthy.
Delegates from G20 countries would be attending these meetings. The programmes under the Education Working Group, selection of themes and ensuring reach to the youth of the country are being led by the Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan, he added. In the case of Odisha, where the theme is ‘Future of Work’, the activities are based on the vision that there should be widespread deliberations and effective outreach in every district on the emerging skilling requirements and the need for continuous skilling re-skilling and up-skilling as relevant to the district.
Addressing the media, Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Secretary Atul Kumar Tiwari said that with ground-breaking advancements and digitisation, the nature of work is witnessing a fundamental change. This change will also bring immense economic potential while augmenting productivity gains and stimulating growth.
He further said that the G20 nations are also experiencing this active evolution in several sectors and can only prepare the youth by equipping them with relevant skills, speed, and agility. “Embracing this transformation and finding solutions for the most pressing issues related to the future of work, we look forward to the upcoming third meeting of the Education Working Group in Bhubaneswar. The precursor events and an exhibition, bringing together experts, stakeholders, and thought leaders will help to explore a coordinated approach to prioritize reforms, re-imagine learning, redefine talent and at the same time create frameworks for preparing social, political and business leaders for future of work,” he added.
Secretary Department of School Education and Literacy in the Union Ministry of Education, Sanjay Kumar spoke about the integration of skills in the school curriculum and equipping children with a range of future skills to set them on a course of lifelong learning. He informed about the breakout session on ‘integration of skills in school curriculum’ in the workshop on the Future of Work between India and Singapore on April 25 of the Working group meeting. The discussions will also be organised on ‘equipping children with a range of future skills to set them on a course of lifelong learning he added. Sanjay Kumar also informed that as recommended under NEP 2020, exposure to skill education from Class VI will be provided. It will be optional for Classes IX and X and compulsory for Classes XI and XII.
During the conference, it was informed that drawing inspiration from the Prime Minister’s call to make ‘Jan Bhagidari’ a strong element of India’s G20 Presidency, month-long events have commenced in the state of Odisha from April 1, which is also celebrated as “Utkal Dibasa” or “Odisha Day”. So far, 86,000 people have participated in the Jan Bhagidari events, such as quiz contests, essay competitions and declamation contests, Yuva Samvad etc. Seminars have been organised on various topics related to the Future of Work like workshops on drone application in agriculture, the future of robotics, climate change impact on livestock productivity, the future of chemical engineering, decarbonisation of aluminium production, – towards net zero, etc. Students from schools, ITIs, polytechnics, colleges, engineering colleges, NSTI and beneficiaries of Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) are participating in these events. These programmes and activities are Youth-led and Women-led. Engagement Groups of G20, viz., Startup 20, B20 etc. are also providing support to organise these events across the state.
Precursor events are being organized in collaboration with various institutions, such as IIT Bhubaneswar, IIM Sambalpur, Central University, NIT, IMMT Bhubaneswar, and Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. Deloitte, CII and USIBC are industry connects for the various events. These week-long deliberations would focus on strengthening international collaboration and support in germinating a Framework for the Future of Work.
