NEW DELHI: Australian education minister Jason Clare arrived in Delhi on Tuesday on a four-day official trip to promote institutional partnerships and boost collaborations between the two countries.
During his visit, Jason, along with his Indian counterpart Dharmendra Pradhan, will attend a student engagement programme and series of meetings to provide further momentum to India’s bilateral relations in the domain of education sector with Australia, the Union ministry of education said in a statement. Pradhan invited Jason during his visit to Australia in August last year.
A statement by Jason’s office said that he and Pradhan will sign the mechanism for the mutual recognition of qualifications which “locks in the rules for mutual recognition to access education in both our countries”.
“This will be the broadest and most favourable recognition agreement India has signed with another country and will enhance student mobility between both countries,” the statement read.
The statement said that Australia’s University of Wollongong’s initiative with Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) is “a good example of a partnership which builds skills and capacity to tackle future challenges”. The university is likely to set up a campus in GIFT city.
The government last year announced the setting up of campuses of foreign universities in Gandhinagar’s GIFT City free from domestic regulations to facilitate the availability of skilled manpower in financial services. During his trip to Australia, Pradhan invited Australian universities and skilling institutions to explore the possibility of setting up campus in India and areas of collaboration with their Indian counterparts.
“The visit provides an important opportunity for Australian universities to showcase new partnerships and plans which they can deliver in India, including opportunities for joint degrees and campuses,” the statement added