BRICS Backs Early Childhood Care, Digital Literacy in New Delhi Declaration

BRICS nations have pledged closer cooperation in early childhood care and education as well as foundational literacy and numeracy, as part of the New Delhi Declaration adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit on Saturday.

The declaration also welcomed the outcomes of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' meeting held in Bhubaneshwar last month.

Under the agreed framework, member states will encourage the exchange of best practices in early childhood care and foundational learning. The declaration also backs mutual recognition of qualifications, academic and professional mobility, digital literacy, and the safe, ethical and human-centred use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence in education, alongside stronger institutional partnerships.

A second priority area is technical and vocational education and training. The declaration recognised the role of the BRICS Technical and Vocational Education and Training Cooperation Alliance (BRICS-TCA) in building a multilateral platform for project cooperation, information exchange and resource sharing, and in advancing joint development of vocational training among member states. It looked forward to the alliance's biennial progress report and its compendium of sustainable skill initiatives.

The declaration reaffirmed a commitment to strengthening skill development systems, digital literacy and workforce preparedness across BRICS countries. It called for training programmes to be aligned with evolving market demands and sustainable development priorities, including by linking vocational training institutions with industries.

Support was also reaffirmed for continued cooperation through existing education mechanisms, including the BRICS Network University. The declaration welcomed India's initiative to circulate guiding principles on strengthening academic collaboration on traditional and indigenous knowledge systems, and encouraged the network university to consider such knowledge systems as an additional international thematic group.

Member states further encouraged collaborative efforts to improve institutional governance, enhance quality and accessibility in education, and promote exchange and scholarship programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as vocational training-industry linkages aimed at fostering innovation and expanding job opportunities.