National Education Day is celebrated every year on November 11 to mark the birth anniversary of independent India’s first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. A freedom fighter, scholar and an eminent educationist, Maulana Azad was a key architect of India’s education policy and served as Union Education Minister from 1947 to 1958 in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet.
He was responsible for setting up apex education bodies like the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the University Grants Commission (UGC). On National Education Day, India remembers Maulana Azad’s contributions to nation-building.
The Central Government, with a resolution on September 11, 2008, declared November 11 as National Education Day. The first National Education Day celebrations were inaugurated by then President Pratibha Patil on November 11, 2008, at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan.
Pioneer of modern Indian education
According to historians, Maulana Azad laid the base for higher education and for technological and scientific research in India post-Independence that became instrumental in the country’s industrialisation and the recent emergence of knowledge-based industries. The first Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Kharagpur, was established by Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad.
Maulana Azad once said that schools are laboratories that produce future citizens of the country. In his address to the first meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), Maulana Azad said: “The primary aim of any system is to create balanced minds which cannot be misled.”
Apart from these institutions, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad was also responsible for setting up the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Sangeet Natak Academy, Sahitya Academy, Lalit Kala Academy and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The leader was posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna – India’s highest civilian award – in 1992.
November 11 is celebrated every year in schools by conducting various interesting and informative seminars, symposia, essay-writing, rallies, etc. Students and teachers come together to talk about the importance of literacy and the nation’s commitment to all aspects of education.
Inaugurating the National Education Day programme organised by IIT Bombay on Tuesday, Union Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal in his address said, “Through ‘Study in India, Stay in India and Internationalization of Education’, we are committed to establishing India as a global hub of education. To ensure high quality of education, it is also necessary that we move forward with cooperation, coordination and agreement with the leading universities of the world. This has been incorporated in NEP 2020 by inviting Top 100 World Universities to set up campus in India.”
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!