The 18th BRICS 2026 Summit was held in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026, under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” The summit concluded with the adoption of the BRICS New Delhi Declaration, which sets out areas for continued cooperation among BRICS countries across economic, social, technological and people-to-people priorities.
For the education and skills sector, Points 124 and 125 of the New Delhi Declaration outline several areas of cooperation, including education, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), skill development, digital literacy, workforce preparedness, industry linkages, academic and professional mobility, qualifications and the use of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), in education.
BRICS 2026: Education and Skills in the New Delhi Declaration
Point 124 welcomes the outcomes of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting held in Bhubaneswar and reaffirms the commitment to strengthening cooperation in education as a driver of sustainable development, inclusive growth and people-to-people exchanges.
The Declaration also recognises the important role of the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance (BRICS-TCA) as a multilateral platform for project cooperation, information exchange, resource sharing and the joint development of TVET among member states.
It looks forward to the BRICS-TCA Biennial Progress Report and the BRICS-TCA Compendium of Sustainable Skill Initiatives.
Point 124 further reaffirms the commitment to strengthening skill development systems, digital literacy and workforce preparedness across BRICS countries. It also calls for training programmes to be aligned with evolving market demands and sustainable development priorities, while promoting stronger linkages between TVET institutions and industries.
Strengthening Cooperation across Education
Point 125 extends the scope of cooperation across the wider education ecosystem. It supports continued cooperation through existing BRICS education mechanisms, including the BRICS Network University. It also notes India’s initiative on guiding principles for academic collaboration on traditional and indigenous knowledge systems and encourages consideration of traditional, indigenous and local knowledge systems as an additional International Thematic Group under the BRICS Network University, subject to established procedures.
The Declaration also encourages cooperation in areas including:
- Sharing of best practices
- Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
- Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN)
- Mutual recognition of qualifications
- Academic and professional mobility
- Digital literacy
- Stronger institutional partnerships
- Institutional governance
- Quality and accessibility in education
- Undergraduate and postgraduate exchanges
- Scholarships, including in STEM
- TVET-industry linkages
- Innovation and knowledge exchange and
- Preparing learners and institutions for future opportunities and challenges
Point 125 also encourages the safe, ethical and human-centred use of emerging technologies, including AI, in education. This places emerging technologies within the broader BRICS education cooperation agenda.
BRICS-TCA Cooperation Under India’s 2026 Chairship
The commitments in Points 124 and 125 follow a series of education and skills engagements held during India’s BRICS Chairship.
In August, the BRICS-TCA Research Symposium and Joint Management Committee (JMC) Meeting was held in New Delhi on August 3–4, 2026, under the guidance of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India. The meeting was convened by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
Held under the theme “Sustainable and Digitally Enabled TVET: The BRICS Perspective,” the two-day meeting brought together representatives from BRICS countries, international organisations, academia, industry and training institutions. Discussions focused on digital, green and demographic shifts affecting skills and workforce needs.
The JMC meeting considered the outcomes of the Research Symposium and inputs from member countries on future priorities. Under India’s Chairship, three proposals were discussed:
- A framework for a BRICS International Skill Gap Study to identify gaps in emerging occupations and workforce shortages;
- A BRICS Skills Competition to promote vocational excellence and a shared understanding of competence; and
- A Compendium of Good Practices in TVET covering areas such as industry partnerships, digital learning, qualifications and financing mechanisms.
The symposium also included discussions on green skills development and financing mechanisms, as well as digital transformation and AI, VR and AR for TVET.
Education Ministers’ Meeting and BRICS Education Priorities
The BRICS-TCA engagement was followed by the 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting in Bhubaneswar in August.
The meeting covered key areas including ECCE, skill development and enhanced cooperation under the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance, research and innovation, mutual recognition of qualifications and academic leadership.
The outcomes of this meeting are specifically acknowledged in Point 124 of the New Delhi Declaration, linking the education discussions held during India’s Chairship with the commitments adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit.
Digital Literacy, AI and Future Skills
Digital literacy and emerging technologies also feature across the BRICS education and skills agenda.
Point 124 identifies digital literacy and workforce preparedness as areas for strengthened cooperation, while Point 125 encourages cooperation on the safe, ethical and human-centred use of emerging technologies, including AI, in education.
The August BRICS-TCA Symposium had already addressed the role of digital transformation, AI, VR and AR in TVET, alongside discussions on green skills and the changing requirements of the workforce.
This places technology within a wider discussion on skills development, TVET and education cooperation among BRICS countries.
Education, Skills and TVET as Areas of Continued BRICS Cooperation
The New Delhi Declaration brings together several areas that have been part of the BRICS education and skills discussions during India’s 2026 Chairship.
For TVET and skills, these include strengthening skill development systems, digital literacy, workforce preparedness, alignment of training with evolving market demands and stronger TVET-industry linkages.
For wider education cooperation, the Declaration includes qualification recognition, academic and professional mobility, institutional partnerships, exchanges and scholarships, innovation and knowledge sharing, and the use of emerging technologies in education.
The August BRICS-TCA Symposium and JMC Meeting, followed by the Education Ministers’ Meeting, provided a platform for discussions on these areas before they were reflected in the New Delhi Declaration.
With Points 124 and 125, education, skills and TVET remain part of the continuing BRICS cooperation agenda, with cooperation spanning institutions, industry, technology, qualifications, mobility, innovation and workforce preparedness.
