UNESCO and RIE Bhubaneswar Forge Landmark Partnership to Embed Health and Wellness in Teacher Education
Bhubaneswar, October 14, 2025 — In a pioneering move to reshape India’s teacher education landscape, the UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia and the Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhubaneswar, under NCERT, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate health and well-being into pre-service teacher training programs.
The collaboration builds on UNESCO’s ongoing support for the School Health and Wellness Programme (SHWP) under Ayushman Bharat, which has already reached over 3 million learners and trained more than 40,000 teachers across 30,000 CBSE-affiliated schools.
This two-year initiative will embed health and wellness modules into Integrated B.Sc.-B.Ed., B.A.-B.Ed., and B.Ed. programs, equipping future educators with empathy, resilience, and life skills to foster inclusive and safe learning environments.
Key deliverables include:
- Development of a Health and Well-being Handbook for teacher educators.
- Curriculum integration across select teacher education institutions.
- Training workshops to pilot and scale the initiative.
The partnership aligns with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 4, and 5, and reinforces the vision of NEP 2020 and NCFSE 2023, which emphasise holistic education and mental well-being.
“This MoU marks a milestone in our shared vision to promote health and well-being as an integral part of education,” said Prof. P.C. Agarwal, Joint Director, NCERT. UNESCO’s Tim Curtis added, “We are excited to bring concrete action to the state level, starting with Odisha.”
Prof. Manasi Goswami, Principal of RIE Bhubaneswar, called the agreement “a first-of-its-kind” and expressed commitment to reforming teacher education through this transformative lens.
The initiative is expected to set a precedent for nationwide adoption, with UNESCO planning to engage the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) for broader integration.
