At the recent 54th annual conference of the
Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE) hosted by the Council for the
Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the Union Education Secretary
Sanjay Kumar emphasised how India’s growth story must be grounded in education,
technology and innovation. He reminded the audience that “all transformations
begin in school. The foundation of Viksit Bharat lies in our classrooms.”
Schools:
Where the Future Is Built
Kumar drew attention to the vast scale of the
school-education system in India—approximately 24 crore students. He noted that
school boards need speed and vision because “India is young today, but we will
age soon. This is our decisive window of opportunity – if we miss it, the cost
will be generational.” The message was clear: the reforms must happen
now, in the classrooms and across school governance.
Reforms in
Assessment and Language
One of the key themes was shifting how we
assess learning. The conference highlighted that assessment should meet
world-class standards and act more like a feedback engine than a post-mortem
report. Kumar also addressed the importance of
mother-tongue learning and trans-languaging: our fascination for a particular
instructional language needs rethinking, and boards should promote
multilingualism to preserve the soul of Indian education.
Technology-Driven
Changes in Education
On the stage of innovation, the conference
spotlighted how boards and states are using technology to enhance learning. For
instance, in Telangana, ICT-enabled classrooms, face-recognition systems to
ensure attendance, global collaborations and new skill universities were cited
as examples of the future of schooling. These aren’t just pilot programmes—they signal
how the classroom and school infrastructure may evolve to meet 21st-century
demands.
Breaking
Free From Old Pedagogies
CISCE Chairperson G. Immanuel urged educators
to break free from outdated teaching methods. He said: “We still teach as we
did decades ago. NEP 2020 gives us the freedom to innovate — only then can
teaching and learning become truly effective.” This aligns with the broader national shift
envisioned under the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), which pushes
for more student-centric, inquiry-based, and technology-enabled education.
Global
Competitiveness With Indian Roots
The conference resolved to make Indian
education “globally competitive yet deeply rooted in its civilisational ethos.”
Over 70 school boards from India and abroad including the Cambridge Assessment
International Education and the International Baccalaureate (IB) attended. This reflects a dual aim: raise quality to
global standards and preserve the cultural, linguistic and contextual richness
of Indian schooling.
Why This
Matters
Education isn’t just about schooling—it’s
about equipping a young nation for tomorrow’s challenges. With technology and
innovation reshaping society, schools must ensure that students are
prepared—not just to take tests, but to think critically, collaborate globally
and create solutions. The conference underscored that the school boards,
teachers, states and the central government must move together, swiftly. The
cost of inaction is high: a young country today may miss its growth window if
reforms lag.
Looking
Ahead
The message from Hyderabad is that change is
urgent and possible. School boards must adopt reforms in assessment, language,
pedagogy and infrastructure. States need to leverage technology and global
connections. Educators must shift from recall-based teaching to reflective,
thinking-driven learning. Ultimately, the goal is to create an education
ecosystem that supports the vision of “Viksit Bharat” a
developed India backed by innovation, knowledge and inclusivity.
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