Signing of Joint Declaration of Intent between Ministry of HRD and Federal Foreign Office of Germany

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, gave its ex-post approval to the Joint Declaration of Intent between the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Federal Foreign Office of Germany on Promotion of German as an additional Foreign Language in KV schools in conformity with the National Education Policy of India and promotion of teaching of Modern Indian Languages in Germany. The Joint Declaration of Intent will help to intensify existing bilateral cooperation between India and Germany and to further advance the relations between the two countries in the field of education in accordance with the laws, policies and regulations in force in the two countries. Background: A MoU was entered into on September 2011 between Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and Goethe-Institute, Max Mueller Bhawan for teaching of German Language in the KVs. The validity of the MoU had expired in September, 2014 but the MoU had not been renewed further in view of some inconsistencies in the provisions of that MoU vis-à-vis the National Education Policy and the National Curriculum Framework relating to the “three language formula”. Consequent upon further deliberations by the Board of Governors of KVS and review of the matter in the Ministry of HRD, draft of a fresh MoU porposed to be concluded between Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Goethe-Institute/Max Mueller Bhawan was referred to the Ministry of External affairs, on 5th April, 2015 proposed that the MoU would need to be signed at the Inter- Governmental level as Goethe Institute cannot take obligations on behalf of the German Government for promotion of Modern Indian Languages in German educational Institutions. In a Joint Statement issued by the Prime Minister and German Chancellor in Berlin on 14th April 2015, it was agreed to support the respective programmes and efforts in India and Germany to broaden knowledge of each other’s languages among the youth in accordance with the National Policy of each country. Ministry of External Affairs had proposed a revised draft which was a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) to be signed between Ministry of Human Resource development of the Republic of India and federal foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany regarding the promotion of teaching of German as an additional foreign language in KV schools in conformity with the National Education Policy of India and Modern Indian Languages in Germany. On details of the implementation modalities, an inter-institutional MoU would subsequently be entered into between Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Goethe-Institute/Max Mueller Bhawan. For promotion of Modern Indian Languages in the German educational institutions, separate arrangements on implementation modalities will be entered into between the counterpart institutions to be identified on either side. The JDI also envisaged that the Embassy of India will establish contacts with the Standing Conference of the Ministers of education and Cultural Affairs of the Lander in the Federal Republic of Germany as the competent institution for school and higher education. The nodal implementing agencies on both sides may enter into a separate MoU at the earliest.