Ministers and delegates from BRICS nations to discuss ECCE, skilling, research, and academic leadership from August 5–7
The Ministry of Education, under India's BRICS chairship for 2026, will host the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting and the 3rd BRICS Senior Officials' Meeting from August 5–7 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The meetings will bring together education ministers, senior officials, and delegates from BRICS member countries to discuss key areas of collaboration in education.
The discussions are expected to focus on five priority areas: strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE); strengthening skill development and enhanced cooperation under the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance (TCA); promoting collaborative research, innovation, and start-ups; strengthening Mutual Recognition of Qualifications (MRQ); and capacity building for academic leadership.
India's BRICS chairship is guided by the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," reflecting the people-centric and humanity-first approach articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2025 BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The upcoming Ministerial Meeting builds on a series of engagements held under the BRICS Education Track during India's chairship this year. The 1st and 2nd BRICS Senior Officials' Meetings were held on April 7 and April 28, 2026, respectively, followed by the BRICS Network University Conference and International Governing Board Meeting on July 20–21, 2026. These earlier engagements have helped shape discussions and build consensus on the priority areas and proposed outcomes for the Ministerial Meeting.
Ahead of the 13th Education Ministers' Meeting, the BRICS TVET Symposium and the Joint Management Committee (JMC) meeting of the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance were held in New Delhi on August 3–4, 2026, led by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. These engagements aim to deepen cooperation among BRICS countries in technical and vocational education and training, skills development, and workforce preparedness, while consolidating and exchanging research and best practices across the priority themes.
Alongside the high-level intergovernmental engagements, India's BRICS chairship places strong emphasis on youth participation and people-to-people exchanges. In this spirit, Model BRICS has been conceptualised as a student-focused initiative to be organised on the sidelines of BRICS Ministerial Meetings across India. The initiative aims to familiarise young citizens with BRICS processes while strengthening their understanding of diplomacy, multilateral cooperation, and consensus-building.
