Govt nominates Prof Rajput as India’s representative to EXB, UNESCO

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New Delhi : The Government of India has decided to nominate Professor J S Rajput, former Director NCERT, as India’s representative to the Executive Board (EXB) of UNESCO. Professor J S Rajput is an eminent educationist with rich experience in various fields including UNESCO.

Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar during his participation at the General Conference of UNESCO meeting from October 30 to November 4, 2017, actively mobilised support from various nations for India’s membership to the EXB, UNESCO, by meeting their Ministers.

The EXB has a four-year term of office and 58 seats. The executive board is one of the constitutional organs of UNESCO and is elected by the General Conference. The executive board examines the work for the organization and the corresponding budget estimates. In practice, the executive board is the main organ responsible for all policies and programmes of UNESCO, according to a PIB release.

The elections of Members of the EXB for the term 2017-21 took place on November 8, 2017, in which India won with 162 votes in Group IV during the 39th session of the General Conference held from October 30 to November 14, 2017.

Professor J S Rajput is known for his contributions in reforms in school education and teacher education. He has held several assignments which include Professor in NCERT, 1974, Principal of the Regional Institute of Education Bhopal 1977-88, Joint Educational Adviser, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, 1989-94, Chairman, National Council for Teacher Education, NCTE, 1994-99 and the Director of the NCERT, 1999-2004.

Prof Rajput proposed valuable changes in school education curriculum as Director, NCERT, popularly known as five Sai values: Truth, Peace, Non-violence, Righteous Conduct (Dharma) and Love. Though a professor of Physics, he is known for regulating the B.Ed correspondence courses as the first Chairman of NCTE and for starting the innovative two-year B.Ed course. His research publications in Physics earned him a Professorship at the age of 31 years.

Professor Rajput’s association with UNESCO and other international agencies extends over three decades. UNESCO acknowledged his contributions by selecting him for the Prestigious Jan Amos Comenius Medal for outstanding contributions in research and innovations in 2004. He received this Award in July 2009. The Government of India awarded him Padma Shri in 2014