Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the G20 Education Ministers’ meet held in Pune on Thursday, via video message, called for judicious use of technology in education as it offers opportunities along with challenges.

He said digital Technology serves as an equalizer and promotes inclusivity. It is a force multiplier in increasing access to education and adapting to future needs. Today, Artificial Intelligence offers great potential in the field of learning, skilling and education.

“With opportunities, technology also poses challenges. We have to strike the right balance. The G20 can play an important role in this,” the Prime Minister said.

“To make our youth future ready, we need to continuously skill, re-skill and up-skill them. We need to align their competencies with evolving work profiles and practices. In India, we are undertaking skill mapping,” the Prime Minister said.

Indian Education, Skill and Labour Ministries are working in tandem on this initiative. G20 countries can undertake skill mapping at the global level, and find gaps that need to be plugged, he said.  

Modi said education is not only the foundation upon which civilization is built, but it is also the architect of humanity’s future. He referred to the Education Ministers as the Sherpas and said that they are leading mankind in its effort for development, peace, and prosperity for all.

He highlighted that the Indian scriptures describe the role of education as the key to bringing joy. Reciting a Sanskrit Shloka which means ‘True knowledge gives humility, from humility comes worthiness, from worthiness one gets wealth, wealth enables a person to do good deeds, and, this is what brings joy’, the Prime Minister said that India has embarked on a holistic and comprehensive journey.

Modi emphasized that foundational literacy forms a strong base for the youth and India is combining it with technology. He highlighted the ‘National Initiative for Proficiency in reading with Understanding and Numeracy”, or ‘Nipun Bharat’ initiative by the Government and expressed happiness that ‘Foundational Literacy and Numeracy’ has been identified as a priority by G20 as well. He also stressed working on it in a time-bound manner by 2030.

The Prime Minister emphasized the need to adapt and use new e-learning innovatively and said that the objective must be to provide quality education with better governance. He highlighted the initiatives taken by the Government in this direction and mentioned ‘Study Webs of Active-learning for Young Aspiring Minds’, or ‘Swayam’, an online platform that hosts all courses from Class 9 to the post-graduate level and enables students to learn remotely while focussing on access, equity and quality.

“With over 34 million enrolments and more than 9000 courses, it has become a very effective learning tool”, the Prime Minister added. He also mentioned the ‘Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing’ or ‘Diksha Portal’ which aims to deliver school education through distance learning.

Modi said that it supports learning in 29 Indian and seven foreign languages and has witnessed over 137 million course completions so far. He pointed out that India would be happy to share these experiences and resources, particularly with those in the Global South.

Highlighting the significance of the G20 Education Ministers’ Meet towards the future of children and youth, the Prime Minister expressed delight that the group has identified green transition, digital transformations and women’s empowerment as accelerators for achieving Sustainable Development Goals. “Education is at the root of all these efforts,” the Prime Minister said.