Writing A New Chapter: National Education Day Celebrates India’s Learning Legacy
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There’s an old saying that knowledge is power, but in India, it’s also a day of celebration. Schools and classrooms alike are energized every 11th November for National Education Day. This is not just another day on the school calendar. It is a reminder that education expanded beyond text and outside of these four walls is a lifelong journey. From chalkboards to chatbots, the learning curve of the nation has shifted to digital, diverse, and dynamic.
Several teachers, on this occasion, share reflections on the changing face of education, celebrating innovation while holding on to timeless teaching values. Their stories stand as proof that wisdom, when shared, multiplies.
Seema Kshatriya, Principal, Birla C P Goenka International School: “Primary education is undergoing a remarkable transformation, redefining how young minds learn and interact with the world. No longer confined to rote memorisation, classrooms today emphasise curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. The integration of technology, from smart classrooms to digital learning tools, is making education more interactive and inclusive, catering to diverse learning styles and paces.
Teachers are evolving into facilitators who guide students to explore knowledge rather than simply receive it. Early exposure to coding, environmental awareness, and global citizenship is preparing learners to think beyond traditional boundaries. Emotional intelligence, communication and problem-solving are now valued as much as academic excellence, ensuring a holistic foundation for future success.
Moreover, inclusive education policies and personalised learning approaches are helping every child realise their potential. The shift toward experiential and project-based learning encourages collaboration and innovation, skills central to the 21st-century world. As primary education continues to evolve, it is not just shaping future learners but nurturing adaptable, empathetic, and responsible global citizens ready to thrive in an ever-changing society.”
Deblina Saha, Principal, Radcliffe School, Kharghar: “Primary education is the cornerstone of a child’s intellectual and emotional growth. It is during these formative years that the brain develops most rapidly, shaping the ability to think, reason, and create. At our school, we strive to ignite the spark of curiosity through experiential learning, social interaction, and values-driven education. By blending innovation with empathy, we nurture future-ready learners who are confident, creative, and compassionate. Primary education is not just the beginning of schooling – it is the spark that shapes the mind, heart, and spirit of tomorrow’s nation builders.”
Nishant Chandra, Co-founder, Newton School: “As AI transforms how knowledge is created and consumed, India’s opportunity lies in building education models that strengthen, not substitute, human curiosity. Research shows AI can improve learning outcomes by up to 40 percent, but creativity and problem framing still come uniquely from human experience. The focus must be on cultivating thinkers before engineers, students who question deeply, think contextually, and use AI as an amplifier of imagination rather than a replacement for it. The future of innovation will belong to those who make machines think with them, not for them. Education in the AI era must evolve from content delivery to capability building, integrating AI to train students to reason, critique, and create with machines, not depend on them. The most forward-thinking institutions are embedding AI into problem-solving frameworks where learners co-design and experiment alongside intelligent systems, preserving human agency by helping students translate intuition into computation and ethics into design. The goal is not to outpace technology but to outgrow it by shaping a generation that views AI as a collaborator in thought, not a shortcut to it.”
In the words of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad himself, education is the soul of society. It evolves, inspires, and never stops growing up. So here’s to the teachers and students, because the real test of learning is how well we keep learning, long after the bell rings.
