PA/44/09 13 October 2009
Australia and India working together to forge stronger education links
Following the successful Joint Working Group (JWG) on Student Mobility which met on 6 October with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, further progress was made during Joint Working Group meetings between the Australian delegation and high-level officials of the Ministry of Human Resource Development on 7 October.
A number of concrete measures were agreed that would increase cooperation and collaboration in education and training, including in areas impacting on student welfare and safety. The joint statement is attached.
The Indian and Australian Governments are determined to build stronger education and training linkages across education sectors, working together on quality assurance and qualifications frameworks in both higher education and vocational education and training (VET).
“Australia and India are collaborating across a range of education and training topics, to the benefit of both countries” said Mr Colin Walters, International Group Manager in Australia’s Ministry of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and co-chair of the JWG meetings with the Ministry of HRD. Walters said the JWG meetings had agreed an Indian VET mission would make a return visit to Australia soon, with the Indian delegation to be led by the Ministries of Human Resource Development and Labour and Employment.
An India-Australia Bureau for Vocational Education Collaboration will be formed to inform the process of developing the Indian VET system and suggest concrete outcomes for the mutual benefit of both countries. The two countries have agreed to collaborate on quality assurance mechanisms. A new India–Australia Taskforce will fast track these issues and report to the next meeting of the Ministerial-level Joint Working Group in Australia in the first half of 2010.
Mr Walters also briefed the Ministry of Human Resource Development on the comprehensive steps being taken by the Australian government and its state counterparts to address student safety and welfare issues. The JWG established rapid response and timely communication linkages between MHRD and the Australian High Commission on student welfare matters. Mr Walters said the JWG’s ministerial meeting in 2010 would receive a full progress reports on these issues.
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Joint Statement
Australian India Joint Working Group on Education
7 October 2009
The Joint Working Group (JWG) was led by Joint Secretaries Mr Sunil Kumar and Mr SC Khuntia (India) and Mr Colin Walters, Chief Executive Officer Australian Education International and Mr David Woodhouse, Executive Director Australian Universities Quality Agency (Australia). The JWG discussions covered the three subgroups:
• Vocational Education and Training;
• Quality Assurance; and
• Student Welfare.
Vocational Education and Training
The subgroup members were provided with comprehensive information on recent developments in Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems in India and Australia through detailed presentations followed by discussions on areas of mutual interest, including responses to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the growing requirements for green skills. The subgroup also discussed qualifications frameworks both in India and Australia, noting with interest that both India and Australia were reviewing qualification frameworks.
The subgroup agreed to develop the following specific lines of practical cooperation, including but not limited to:
1. arrangements for a return VET mission to Australia, with the Indian delegation to be led by the Ministries of Human Resources and Labour and Employment. A senior officials meeting preferably in late November 2009 or early February 2010 will prepare for a Ministerial level meeting of the Joint Working Group in April 2010 in Australia.
2. an India-Australia Bureau for Vocational Education Collaboration to inform the process of developing the Indian VET system and proposals for practical areas of development;
3. collaboration in specific skills sectors, to be agreed, including industry involvement, recognition of prior learning and collaboration over the development of national qualifications;
4. exchange and collaboration on issues of management information and governing structures, to involve Australia’s National Centre for Vocational Education and Research and India’s National Council of Education, Research and Training;
5. information on Indian skill shortages and career opportunities in India, to be placed on Australia’s Study in Australia website, to assist Indian students choosing courses in Australia to choose study options which will be an advantage to them on their return to India; and
Quality
The subgroup was briefed on developments in quality assurance in tertiary education in India and Australia. It was also mentioned that India is planning legislation to provide a statutory basis for quality assurance and for the admission of foreign providers to the Indian higher education system. The meeting noted the recent renewal of the memorandum of cooperation between the Australian Universities Quality Agency and India’s National Accreditation and Assurance Council, including plans for a number of joint activities, including a publication on creativity and innovation in quality assurance.
The subgroup agreed on a study of issues in trans-national education, to be led by Dr Antony Stella, Deputy Director of the Australian Universities Quality Agency.
It was agreed that proposals for collaboration between the National Board for Accreditation and Australian VET regulators be pursued through the new Indian-Australian Bureau for Vocational Education Collaboration.
Proposals for collaboration over the improvement of standards in university teaching will be pursued through contact between the University Grants Commission and Academic Staff Colleges and the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. It was agreed to establish contact between Indira Gandhi Open University and the Australian Universities Quality Agency on issues concerning quality in distance education.
Student safety and welfare
Australia assured India of the high importance placed on the safety and welfare of Indian students in Australia, including:
- the national international student strategy being developed by the Prime Minister and the heads of state governments;
- the review of legislation protecting the rights of international students;
- a requirement for the re-registration of all providers of education to international students;
- the recent international student roundtable which provided Indian students with a direct voice to the Australian Government.
It was agreed that a report on progress on student welfare issues would be made to the Ministerial meeting of the Joint Working Group in April 2010.
It was agreed that a direct line be established between Mr Amit Khare, Joint Secretary (ICC), Ministry of Human Resource Development, and Mr. Dr Lachlan Strahan, Deputy High Commissioner of Australia in India, to provide information on student safety. In conclusion, the subgroup re-affirmed the key importance of the education relationship between India and Australia and looked forward to further progress on the matters agreed, with a view to a full report to the ministerial meeting in 2010.