Dharmendra Pradhan meets Singapore PM, discusses cooperation in school education and research

NEW DELHI — Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday and discussed elevating and expanding bilateral cooperation between the two nations in school education, vocational education and research.

According to an official statement, the talks focused on strengthening the partnership through three key pillars — “Talent, Resource and Market”.

Pradhan emphasised that India views Singapore as a trusted knowledge partner, particularly in advancing deep tech, start-ups, and innovation ecosystems, it said.

“The education minister also highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singapore counterpart have outlined a robust framework to elevate India-Singapore cooperation into a comprehensive partnership, including collaboration in critical and emerging sectors,” the statement said.

Earlier in the day, Pradhan met his counterpart, Singapore’s Minister for Education, Chan Chun Sing, to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation across various areas of education.

“Pradhan emphasized the significance of the National Education Policy 2020 in facilitating the internationalisation of India’s education system. The two ministers explored avenues for overseas internship programs, allowing Indian students to gain practical experience in Singaporean companies.

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“To further strengthen cultural connect between students of both countries the possibility of twinning of schools in India and Singapore was discussed. Joint research collaboration in areas of mutual interest like deep tech, medicine, advance materials, etc was also discussed,” the statement added.

The education ministers also deliberated on fostering academic and research collaboration through the twinning of schools and universities in both countries.

“Pradhan highlighted opportunities for collaboration between Singapore’s National Institute of Education and NCERT in areas such as curriculum development, pedagogy, and teacher capacity-building. Extending an invitation to Minister Chan to visit India, Pradhan expressed his commitment to advancing shared goals and enhancing educational ties between the two nations,” the statement said.

Pradhan also met Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan to discuss the deepening of the India-Singapore Knowledge Partnership.

He visited the National University of Singapore and met its president Tan Eng Chye.

“They discussed leveraging complementary strengths to build knowledge bridges, strengthen academic and research collaborations, and deepen engagements between NUS and top Indian higher education institutions across all academic fronts.

“Pradhan emphasized that NUS and Indian HEIs can collaborate to create value in areas such as deep start-ups, healthcare, advanced materials, digitalization, and sustainability, among others,” the statement said.

The minister’s visit to Singapore, followed by a trip to Australia, from October 20 to 26, 2024, aims to foster collaboration, participation and synergy in critical areas of mutual interest in education.