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Jakarta, July 5 (IANS) East Asian countries need to promote educational cooperation, facilitate exchange of qualified people and earmark seats for students from member countries in reputed institutions in the region, India's Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari said Thursday. Purandeswari led the Indian delegation at the First East Asia Summit Education Ministers Meeting (EAS-EMM) held Thursday in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, the Indian embassy in Jakarta said in a statement. The Indian delegation comprised Ambassador to Indonesia Gurjit Singh; R. Govinda, vice chancellor of the National University for Educational Planning and Administration; Radha Chauhan, joint secretary in the ministry of human resource development; K. Gunasekaran, additional secretary in the University Grants Commission and Nikhilesh Giri, first secretary (Asean), in the Indian embassy. Purandeswari said at the meeting that time had come to evolve a strategy to promote educational cooperation among the East Asian countries. The countries need mutual recognition of degrees, free flow of highly qualified people, earmarking of seats for students from member countries in reputed institutions in the region and setting up corpus fund to promote research, the minister said. She conveyed India's proposal to establish an "EAS Regional Leadership Development Programme", with the objective of providing access to higher education for future leaders of the region. Purandeswari also held bilateral meetings with Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture Muhammad Nuh, Australian Minister of Education Christopher Evans, New Zealand Minister of Education Steven Joyce and US Deputy Secretary for Education Anthony Wilder Miller.
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