Where chalkboards are gradually being replaced by the learning of code and textbooks by AI teachers, the Indian education system is ready to take a step of history.
No longer limited to memorization or formula syllabi, students today are only just starting to discover a dynamic world of drones, digital marketing, and problem-solving abilities through apps previously well outside the realm of school education.
Since the government has encouraged skills-based learning in Classes 11 and 12, the classroom of the future is getting here sooner than we could have dreamed of.
Global educational thinkers such as Harvard's Howard Gardner and Anthea Roberts foresee that by 2050, schools will be centers for personalized, technology-based learning attuned to each learner's abilities and resulting in work not yet imagined.
India's reforms hold out this promise. But behind the promise is a question to be answered: Are our teachers ready to lead this revolution?
As of the time of PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, skill-based courses were only available in 47 percent of schools nationwide to Grade 9 and above. Fewer have enrolled them. Reasons are obvious: teachers not trained, insufficient equipment, sub-par infrastructure, low awareness levels on how to go about hands-on experiential learning.
"AASOKA plan is in the right direction, but without teachers and infrastructure to support it, it will be another good intention turned wrong," believes Monica Malhotra Kandhari, Managing Director, AASOKA by MBD Group.
FROM DRONES TO DIGITAL SKILLS: WHAT'S AT STAK
The purpose of making learning in real life a part of schools is also accorded respectability by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which has appreciated the type of holistic, student-centric learning. In this new architecture, students are prompted to select among a plethora of courses â coding, AI, flying drones, woodworking, cooking, digital marketing, and so on â designed to prepare them to face a changing world of work.
"Combined with academic education, these skills can enable students to study better and be more relevant," is what Kandhari has to present.
These courses are designed to make students attain what they can do to succeed in exams and find employment, especially in an age of automation and artificial intelligence that will transform the way humans work.
A few have already started exploring. In a Gurugram school, students are now coding small robots and testing drone flight paths in a weekend session. In a Pune school, students are learning to make mobile applications with the guidance of industry mentors.
Maharashtra government launched the country's first AI-enabled anganwadi at Waddhamna village in the Nagpur district, 18 km away from the city. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the anganwadi centre on July 27. Meta VR headsets, AI-enabled smartboards, tablets, and other web-based materials are utilized in the centre to read poems, songs, and basic ideas. The centre also aims to bridge the digital gap for rural kids.
But they are uncommon, not usual.
"We would like to see more schools adopt this model, particularly Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities," states Alka Verma, Resident Director with Zamit, a firm having SkillTech ventures with international presence which has interest from the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
Even where there is excitement, the majority of teachers report they don't feel adequately prepared to instruct subjects in AI, robotics, or drone education. While over 90 percent of secondary school teachers have undergone professional development training, experts warn that such training won't necessarily be used to implement future-proof curricula.
"We need to shift from the conventional model of rote learning towards problem-solving, design thinking, collaborative approach," says Verma. "That means re-educating teachers, not just once but on a repeated basis."
There is indeed one real lacuna there in teachers' confidence as well as access to resources available. Particularly in rural and underprivileged segments, the digital divide again restricts opportunities.
On top of that, infrastructure is still the sticking point â even in cities.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND INVESTMENT: STEPS FORWARD
In a bid to fill this gap, Delhi Government has recently sanctioned a Rs 900-crore project to provide 18,996 smart boards in government schools from July 2025. The boards will be implemented in phases within five years, with the 9-12th standard to be completed first and the rest by 2029-30. A teacher training module has also been sanctioned in the scheme.
Education Minister Ashish Sood pointed out that a total of 799 classrooms were installed with smart boards from 2014-2024 and even then, thanks to CSR donations. Another 2,466 boards for 75 CM Shri Schools have already been tendering.
This investment is better, but it is a difficult task to scale this in India, especially in villages and rural schools.
"ASER 2023 itself shows an enormous deficit in core literacy and numeracy among rural youth. What the problem of imparting AI and coding in this context?" questions Kandhari.
For effective application of skill-based learning in India, there is a suggestion by experts to opt for a multi-pronged strategy. It is the excessive investment in repetitive training of teachers in digital tools and new technologies. It needs industry involvement to have exposure to real-world exposure and mentorship.
"We are at a turning point," she insists. "If we do it well, this will change Indian education. If we do it poorly, we will be leaving behind a generation," she continues.
India's education is shining but so in equal measure an ordeal. There is no other subject within the curriculum to teach but attitude, pedagogy, and learning have to change.
