New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) The Union Education Ministry on Saturday flagged off a group of 56 students participating in the Sakura Science Programme 2026 in Japan, an official said on Saturday.

From May 24 to 30, 56 school students and four supervisors from India will visit Japan as part of the Sakura Science Programme, alongside participants from Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa, an official of the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) said.

The flag-off ceremony, held at NCERT in New Delhi, was attended by Archana Sharma Awasthi, DoSEL Additional Secretary; Dinesh Prasad Saklani, NCERT Director; and A. Srija, DoSEL Economic Advisor.

The 56 students (24 boys and 32 girls) in the group are from government schools across 15 states and Union Territories, namely Assam, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal.

The participants are recipients of scholarships under the National Means cum Merit Scholarship (NMMS) scheme of the Union government, a statement said.

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 has been participating in the programme since April 2016.

“Under the programme, students are invited to Japan for one week to experience the country’s advanced science and technology ecosystem and its rich cultural heritage. So far, 674 students, along with 96 supervisors, have visited Japan under this programme. The most recent batch visited Japan in August 2025,” the statement said.

The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, emphasises that learning should be “holistic, integrated, enjoyable and engaging”.

It further envisages experiential learning as a standard pedagogy across all stages of education, with emphasis on exploring relationships among different subjects.

In this context, educational visits and exposure trips to places of historical, cultural, social, scientific and technological importance play a significant role in enriching students’ learning experiences.

Japan, known for its technological advancements and rich cultural heritage, offers students valuable opportunities to explore innovative practices and gain global exposure.

–IANS

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