India-Japan Education Cooperation

India-Japan Education Co-operation

Cooperation in the field of education is being conducted through partnerships between education and research institutions, student and teacher exchange, government scholarships, promotion of Japanese language education in India etc. There are 665 academic and research partnerships (including student exchanges) between more than 100 universities/institutes of Japan and around 200 universities/institutions of India. The partnerships range from liberal arts to management & business studies, legal studies, international studies, linguistics, STEM including fast emerging frontier technologies.

(ii) A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of Education between Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Govt of India and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Govt of Japan was signed in 2015 to encourage the development of contacts and cooperation between the educational institutions of the two countries and possible support for exchange of aspiring students between the two countries.

(iii) Apart from academic partnerships, several Indian Institutions have started ‘India-Japan Centre’, for example, IIM Bengaluru India-Japan Study Centre, IIM Nagpur Indo-Japan Research Centre, etc. Similarly, many Japanese Institutions have started research centres/labs in collaboration with India or focus on India, such as ‘International Joint Lab’ to conduct research on modernisation of law in Asia at Osaka University, ‘Indo-Japan Lab’ at Keio University, etc. Student exchange programmes, especially short-term, have enabled Indian students to visit and experience Japan. Similarly, Japanese students have been going to Indian universities for various courses including Hindi Language. There are many universities in Japan teaching Indian Philosophy & Indian Culture as well as Hindi, Bangla and Urdu and prominent among them are Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) and School of Foreign Studies, Osaka University.

(iv) In 2017, India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) for the expansion of Japanese Language Education in India. In order to achieve the objectives of the MoC, the Japanese Language Teacher Training Centre (JLTTC) has been established by the stakeholders [MEA, Ministry of Education, University Grants Commission (UGC), Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation] in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus, New Delhi and the first course started from July 23, 2018. More than 600 teachers have been trained since the beginning of the programme.

(v) MEXT-sponsored Japan-India Exchange Platform Programme (JIEPP) started in 2017 to develop a robust and sustainable platform for Japan-India exchange through the creation of a network to connect universities and companies currently engaged in Japan-India exchange projects. Since then, a number of projects have been completed between Indian and Japanese universities. With the holding of the 5th JIEPP Symposium on 31 January 2023, process of building the Japan-India Exchange Platform has been completed.

(vi) Since 2016, International Educational Exchange Invitation Programme for Teachers from India has been organised by the Tokyo-based Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) annually with the aim to promote mutual understanding and friendship between India and Japan. MEXT, Ministry of Education (erstwhile MHRD) of India and Centre for Environment Education (CEE) are the stakeholders. Under the programme, 12-15 Elementary & Secondary Education teachers, Non-formal Education Centre teachers, School managers or Educational administrators in India are invited to Japan for 7-8 days. They visit various Japanese schools, other education institutions and learn & share good practices including ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) and establish exchange and communication with teachers and students. In September 2023, 12 teachers and educators from India participated in the programme.

(vii) India and Japan signed an MoC on Sports Cooperation between the Sports Authority of India (SAI), MoYA&S and University of Tsukuba (UoT), Japan in November, 2016. On the basis of the MoC, the cooperation of UoT and Nippon Sports Science University (NSSU) and SAI and Lakshmibai National University of Physical Education (LNIPE) began which included academic program with focus on Sport Science.

(viii) There are 2 Indian Schools in Tokyo affiliated with CBSE, India viz. Indian International School in Japan (IISJ) Tokyo and Global Indian International School (GIIS) Tokyo. These schools cater to the educational needs of the children of Indian Community living in Tokyo and greater Tokyo area as well as provide quality education to many Japanese students and those of other nationalities. Both schools have received MEXT recognition thus enabling the students graduating from these schools to join Japanese Universities. More schools at elementary level have been started to cater to the growing numbers of the Community. Currently, there are 1763 Indian students studying in various Indian schools.

(ix) India - Japan Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of Japanese Language Education in India was signed in 2017. The First Japanese language teachers’ training course and the teachers’ training centre was inaugurated in the month of July 2018 at JNU. This Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of Japanese language education in India was renewed between MEA, India and MoFA, Japan on 20.03.2023 in the presence of the Honourable Prime Ministers of India and Japan Shri Narendra Modi and Mr. Kishida Fumio in New Delhi. The objective of the cooperation is to expand the opportunities of Japanese language education in India, with focus on nurturing high-level Japanese language teachers in India.

June 2024