Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, flagged off a group of 20 enthusiastic and excited school children, who have been invited to participate in Sakura Programme 2025 from India. Smt. Archana Sharma Awasthi, Joint Secretary, DoSEL; Prof. Prakash Chandra Agrawal, Joint Director, NCERT, and other officials of the Ministry of Education were also present at the event.

Shri Sanjay Kumar, while speaking at the event, emphasised that the program presents a golden opportunity to explore a developed nation like Japan. He further stressed that it is imperative for all students and their accompanying teachers to fully appreciate the immense importance of this Sakura Science journey, recognising its profound impact on shaping future innovators and strengthening bilateral ties.

In this group, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) has invited 20 school students and 2 supervisors from India, alongside participants from three other countries (Malaysia, Taiwan, and Ukraine), for the period between 15 to 21 June 2025. These 20 students (7 boys and 13 girls) are from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Government Schools in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.

To broaden intellectual horizons and foster scientific exploration among young learners, the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) has been implementing the 'Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science,' also known as the 'Sakura Science Programme,' since 2014. India was included in the Sakura Program in 2016. Under this programme, students are invited for short-term visits to Japan, providing them with the opportunity to experience Japan’s cutting-edge science and technology as well as its rich culture.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, while emphasizing the importance of Curriculum and Pedagogy in Schools, endorses that "Learning should be Holistic, Integrated, Enjoyable and Engaging in itself. Furthermore, the NEP-2020, states that in all stages, experiential learning will be adopted as standard pedagogy within each subject, and with explorations of relationships among different subjects. In this context, educational trips and excursions to places of historical, cultural, social, scientific and technological importance are of paramount importance. Japan, as a developed and friendly nation known for its technological advancements, is also a preferred destination for educational exposure. Therefore, visiting a country like Japan is always enriching and provides an opportunity for the exploration of innovative practices.

India participated in the program for the first time in April 2016. So far, 619 students along with 91 supervisors have visited Japan under this programme. The most recent batch visited Japan in November 2024.

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MV/AK

MOE/DoSEL/14 June 2025/2

(Release ID: 2136427)