PA/32/09 1 September 2009
Australia announces initiatives in education and bilateral cooperation
Launch of Australia-India Institute will strengthen bilateral ties
Australia’s visiting Deputy Prime Minister, Ms Julia Gillard, today launched the Australia-India Institute to be located at the University of Melbourne.
She announced $8.106 million (Rs32 crore) funding to support the Australia-India Institute. The University of Melbourne and its university partners in Australia, the University of New South Wales and La Trobe University, will invest another $2 million (Rs8 crore) in the Institute, bringing the total investment in the project to more than $10 million (Rs40 crore) over the next three years.
The three universities bring to the Institute strong partnerships with leading Indian universities and research centres that will be crucial for the delivery of the Institute’s programs. The Institute will work closely also with the Australia-India Business Council to support mutual trade and investment.
The Institute will support research, graduate training, executive briefings and policy advice for the benefit of both countries. The Institute would operate as a national epicentre of information on India. It will also provide consultancies on issues of national priority, and host international conferences, community engagement and cultural dialogues.
Ms Gillard said that several areas of priority research of interest to both countries have been identified. These include:
• the environment, issues of food and water security, resources and climate change
• health, particularly public health and bio-pharmaceutics
• regional relationships through trade, investment, diplomacy and policy
• education, with major reforms underway in both countries.
Joint workshops, involving researchers and policy makers, are already scheduled to initiate the Institute’s programs for water security under climate change and for cooperation in public health.
The Institute will support Australia’s need to continue, and indeed, strengthen its engagement with India through research, professional links and cooperation. Students, staff and the Australian community will gain a greater understanding of India and the rich bilateral relationship between our two countries.
Ms Gillard is also Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion.
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Deputy Prime Minister launches New Diploma of Primary Education
Ms Gillard (also Australia’s Minister for Education) also launched an ICT Enabled Diploma of Primary Education at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in New Delhi.
Developed as a result of a 12-month collaboration between IGNOU and Australia’s Queensland University of Technology, the diploma program will provide an understanding of the primary school curriculum, and the skills required to implement it effectively. “This will potentially benefit hundreds of thousands of primary school teachers in India,” Ms Gillard said.
“The diploma also teaches trainees important skills in the areas of child development, individual differences in the classroom, learning and motivation processes, language acquisition, and the philosophy of teaching.” She added that “these are areas of vital interest, both here in India and in Australia.”
This new initiative is important in the context of the Indian Government’s new Right to Education Act (which will provide free and comprehensive education for all children in the 6-14 years age group). A unique feature of the diploma is its modular approach and ICT applications implemented through the facilities at IGNOU. The diploma has been launched in a number of States in India. The State Government of Bihar, for example, has identified 250,000 teachers who require training.
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Australia announces Aid to assist Delhi slum children
The Deputy Prime Minister today visited the ASHA Community Health and Development Society and presented a cheque of INR 300,000 (AUD 7,500). The ASHA Society works with 300,000 people in 50 slum colonies located in Delhi. The funding presented by the Deputy Prime Minister will provide secondary school books to children advancing from primary to secondary education.
“This financial contribution will enable students in the Ekta Vihar, Kanak Durga, Hanuman Camp and Dr Ambedkar Basti colonies in Delhi to get a better chance in life through education,” the Deputy Prime Minister said. “The population of these areas is approximately 12,500 persons, and a large number of children will benefit directly from the books funded by this contribution” Ms Gillard added.
Australia has previously funded the ASHA Community Health and Development Society through the Australian High Commission’s Direct Aid Program, most recently in 2007-08 for the purchase of medical equipment for five slum colonies.
Ms Gillard said “As Australia’s Minister for both Education and Social Inclusion, I am committed to promoting the causes of women and children. I endorse the work of organisations such as ASHA in bringing positive long term benefits to the lives of the people serviced by them in Delhi.”
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