Foundational literacy to be focus of G20 Education Working Group meet in Pune

14 education ministers from G20 countries will participate in the G20 Education Working Group meet in Pune, starting June 19

Foundational literacy will be a key focus of the fourth meeting of the G20 Education Working Group in Pune, which will be held between June 19 and 22. An Education Ministerial meeting, where 14 education ministers from G20 countries will participate, will be held on June 22. Education ministers of UK, Italy, Brazil, China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Singapore, Oman, Mauritius, Japan, Bangladesh, Egypt, UAE and the Netherlands are set to attend the meet.

In a briefing on Monday, Sanjay Kumar, secretary of the Department of School Education & Literacy of the Union Ministry of Education, said that Spain, Australia, Indonesia, USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China and UK have expressed their interest in the topic of the seminar and will be participating as panellists.

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In an event prior to the meet, secretaries of all states will deliberate over ways to imbibe teaching in the mother tongue, Kumar said. “Foundational literacy in the mother tongue helps in building cognitive abilities, and the National Education Policy recommends that children till class 5 or 8 be taught in their mother tongue,” Kumar explained. A teachers' workshop will be held to train educators in this regard, he added.

K Sanjay Murthy, secretary of the Department of Higher Education in the ministry said that the department is organising another precursor event – a seminar in collaboration with ELSEVIER on June 16 at IISER, Pune will be held where the scientific community will discuss best practices.