Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate a three day Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam at Varanasi tomorrow. Organized by the Ministry of Education in association with University Grants Commission and Banaras Hindu University, the three day seminars will bring together over 300 Vice Chancellors and Directors from public and private universities, educationists, policy makers, as also industry representatives to deliberate on how the implementation of National Education Policy 2020 can be taken further across the country after successful implementation of several initiatives in the last two years. Smt. Anandiben Patel, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh and Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Education Minister will also attend.

The Summit will provide a platform for leading Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs)  to discuss, deliberate and share insights on strategies, success stories and best practices in implementing the National Education Policy, 2020. The Ministry, along with UGC and AICTE, has brought in several policy initiatives like Academic Bank of Credit, Multiple Entry Exit, Multi disciplinarity and Flexibility in higher education, regulations aimed at boosting online and open distance learning, revising the National Curriculum Framework to make it more in sync with global standards, promoting multi linguality and Indian Knowledge Systems and making both a part of educational curriculum, mainstreaming skill education and promoting lifelong learning, to name a few. Many universities have already onboarded the reform train, but there are still many who are yet to adopt and adapt to the changes. As the higher educational ecosystem in the country spans centre, states and private entities, extensive consultations are required to take the policy implementation further. This process of consultation has been going on at the regional and national levels. Hon'ble Prime Minister addressed a seminar of Chief Secretaries in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh last month where states shared their insights on the issue. The Varanasi Shiksha Samagam is next in the series of consultations in this regard.

Spanning several sessions spread over three days from 7th-9th of July, discussions will be held  on themes such as Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education, Skill Development and Employability, Indian Knowledge Systems, Internationalization of Education, Digital Empowerment and Online Education, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Quality, Ranking and Accreditation, Equitable and Inclusive Education, Capacity Building of Teachers for Quality Education.

The Summit is expected to provide a platform for thought-provoking discussions that will  articulate the roadmap and implementation strategies, foster knowledge exchange and build networks through interdisciplinary deliberations and discuss challenges being faced by educational institutions and articulate solutions.

The key highlight of the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam will be the adoption of the Varanasi Declaration on Higher Education which will showcase India’s extended vision and a renewed commitment to help achieve the goals of higher education system.

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MJPS/AK