DG, UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay Commends India for Promoting Education of Girls

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Director General, UNESCO, Ms Audrey Azoulay, has commended India for successfully promoting education of girls in the country. On a three-day official visit to India, Azoulay spoke to the media February 6, 2020, and said that India has influenced the vision and objectives of UNESCO through the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. She expressed confidence that India and UNESCO would carry forward this relationship further to realise their shared objectives.

Terming her earlier meeting with HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “ Nishank as a very fruitful one, she said she was very happy to see India’s efforts at making quality education available to every section of the society, according to a PIB release. Azoulay had  met Pokhriyal on February 4, 2020, when the two sides discussed the initiatives being taken by India in the education sector. Pokhriyal informed the Director General  that the Gross Enrolment Ratio of girls in the country had, for the first time, surpassed that of boys across various levels.

Azoulay noted India’s work with satisfaction and said that India’s role is crucial for realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals. She also  made a special mention of the programmes for enhancement of management skills of teachers and said that this gap was being felt in many other countries too. She was also happy to note India’s efforts  at ensuring inclusion in education and also the use of technology in this field.

Pokhriyal reiterated India’s commitment to  the attainment of 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. He said  India is working to further UNESCO’s objective of making quality education available to everyone. The Minister also  added that a New Education Policy is on the anvil, which has been formulated after the largest ever process of consultation with stakeholders. This policy will go a long way towards attainment of SDG Goal 4. Pokhriyal further said that India is keen to promote Yoga and Ayurveda courses which are in great demand abroad, and UNESCO can play a pivotal role in the same.

During their meeting on February 4, Pokhriyal and Azoulay signed the Operational Agreement extending the presence of Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) for a further period of 5 years. MGIEP is a New Delhi based UNESCO’s Category 1 Research Institute, maintained wholly by the Ministry of Human Resource Development that focuses on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7 towards education for building peaceful and sustainable societies across the world.

DG, UNESCO, and Pokhriyal also laid the foundation stone for the premises of MGIEP.