New Delhi: Since 2008, November 11 is celebrated as the National Education Day in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of independent India’s first education minister – Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. In the independent country, the focus on education was paramount for the learned understood that no true nation can develop until and unless education was considered a fundamental pillar. Speaking at All India Education on January 16, 1948, he had said, “We must not for a moment forget, it is a birthright of every individual to receive at least the basic education without which he cannot fully discharge his duties as a citizen.”
The freedom fighter and visionary was responsible not only for streamlining the education system in the country but also foreseeing the start of the first ever Indian Institute of Technology, IIT in India in 1951. Here is looking at the legacy of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and why Indian Education System at present desperately needs visionaries like him.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was born Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin on November 11, 2018. An academician and a freedom fighter, he was given the charge of the Education Minister for free India. At the time, India, though free, was reeling through the years of exploitation. Contrary to ordinary belief, the education system under the British India was rudimentary at best. The only schools of excellence were set up by the Indian revolutionaries who managed to bring modern education to India. At a grass root level, however, India was still suffering from widespread illeteracy.
Understanding the fundamental role education plays in the development of the nation, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad as the Chairman of Central Advisory Board of Education, gave impetus to Adult Education and Literacy. Not only did he lay emphasis on elementary education but also propogated diversification of secondary education and vocational training. The man was also responsible for setting up of The Central Institute of Education, Delhi which later became the Department of Education of Delhi University. The setting up of Indian Institute of Technology in 1951, the University Grants Commission in 1953 are all credited to his vision. He also lay stress on and was the primary propagator of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Faculty of Technology of Delhi University and a founder of Jamila Milia Islamia University.
It was these contributions of the man that prompted the Ministry of Human Resource Development to declare his birthday, November 11 as the National Education Day. Schools and colleges in the country celebrate the day by conducting competition. On this day, India needs more visionaries like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. At this turning point in the development of India and the increased population, the education system in the country is facing similar concerns as it had on the eve of Independence. With innovative and out of the box thinking, Indian Education System can be the reason for India’s growth story in the next decade.