A delegation led by the South Africa’s Deputy Minister for Higher Education Mr Buti Kgwaridi Manamela called upon the Minister of State (MoS) for Human Resource Development, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, in New Delhi. During the meeting, the discussion between the two Ministers was focussed mainly on recent Government of India (GoI) initiatives and agreements under negotiation between the two countries. The South African side raised the issue regarding agreement on cooperation in the field of Higher Education including mutual recognition of different academic qualifications. They also proposed formation of a Joint Committee on Education involving the two countries for better coordination.
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Shri Dhotre stressed on the historic connection between the two countries and also mentioned Mahatma Gandhi’s involvement in the non-violent movement in South Africa, especially in the context of 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations of the Mahatma.
MoS also specified that South Africa is one of the countries covered under the GoI’s Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), a scheme aimed towards improving the research ecosystem by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian institutions and the best institutions in the world to jointly solve problems of national and international relevance. So far, since the launch of the scheme in the year 2018, four research project proposals from the South African institutions have been accepted under this. Similarly, 17 reputed South African faculty members have, so far, arrived under the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) programme, for short-term teaching assignments in the Indian institutions.
A comprehensive Memorandum of Association (MoU) covering different facets mutual cooperation in the field of education is under negotiation between the two countries.