Govt clears proposal to boost education ties with Australia

A proposal to strengthen educational ties between India and Australia which would facilitate credit transfers and recognition of qualifications between institutes in the two countries was cleared by the Government today.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed between India and Australia to help intensify existing partnerships between the two countries in higher education and research, including technical and professional education and enlarge the scope for joint research, joint Ph.D programmes and award of joint degrees.
The proposal which was cleared by the Union Cabinet will be funded on mutually agreed terms and will be subject to availability of funds.

"It will help intensify existing partnerships between India and Australia in higher education & research, including technical and professional education, schools, vocational education and training and will open up new and innovative areas of cooperation," a government statement said.
The agreement will also seek to explore expanding Australia India education council membership from time to time to ensure appropriate representation from academia, policy makers and industry as required and agreed.
It will also aim to strengthen policy dialogue including qualification and quality frameworks and standards for education, research and training.

Besides, it will support mobility of students and faculty members through formal exchange programs, internships and other modalities, the government statement said.

The MoU will support in organising professional development programmes for subject experts, educational administrators, faculty members and teachers and encourage twinning arrangements between institutions of higher learning and organisation of joint research programmes and publications.
It will encourage research collaboration between institutions of higher learning, support skills development, strengthen communication for exchange of information on new policy initiatives.
Further, the agreement will help develop bilateral programmes between institutions of educational excellence in technical, vocational, schools and higher education, subject to availability of funds, the statement said.