Education Views | Insightful Perspectives and Analysis - Edinbox

In a colossal leap towards indigenous development and next-generation defense readiness, India has successfully tested quantum entanglement-based secure communication—a historic feat under joint leadership by DRDO and IIT Delhi. The test was conducted over a free-space distance of over one kilometre at the DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE) on the IIT Delhi campus, bringing India at the forefront of quantum-secured communication and future war-fighting capability.

This technology is a quantum entanglement-based next-generation communication protocol rather than the traditional prepare-and-measure quantum key distribution (QKD) approach. Entanglement-based communication has ultra-high security—any eavesdropping on the message disintegrates the quantum state and notifies the sender and receiver simultaneously. It also obviates the requirement of costly optical fiber networks, hence allowing us to safely communicate even in far-flung or city war theaters where installation of infrastructure is not feasible.

The experiment demonstrated a secure key rate of approximately 240 bits per second at a quantum bit error rate of less than 7%, paving the way for possible real-time applications in military-grade cyber security, long-distance QKD, and eventually the building of a full-scale quantum internet.

This work is based on previous Indian achievements: Vindhyachal-Prayagraj intercity quantum link (2022) and a 100-km fiber-based QKD demo (2024). All these are part of DRDO's strategic initiative under its string of 15 DIA-CoEs in premier institutes.

The project, "Design and Development of Photonic Technologies for Free Space QKD", has been approved by DRDO's Directorate of Futuristic Technology Management (DFTM) and was spearheaded by Prof. Bhaskar Kanseri's group at IIT Delhi. DRDO leadership's cream of the crop in the person of DG (MED, COS & CS) and senior IIT Delhi faculty observed the demonstration.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has described the accomplishment as a "game changer in future warfare," highlighting its significance in driving national security and technology sovereignty. DRDO Chairman Dr. Samir V. Kamat and IIT Delhi Director Prof. Rangan Banerjee also seconded the opinion, describing the milestone as a turning point for India's future in defence innovation along with leadership in quantum technology.

In a data-led, artificial intelligence, five-month innovation cycle world, today's education system, still based mostly on 19th-century models, is fast becoming redundant. Nitin Viijay, CEO and Founder of Motion Education, unearths why education now needs to change not only in terms of content, but also in terms of structure, delivery, and intent.

The origins of today's education can be found in the industrial era, an era in which blackboards and mass delivery model represented advance. Nitin points out, "These techniques valued sameness over individuality. Modeled on 19th-century Prussian models, the system we are doing today values rote memorisation, discipline, and standardisation, better suited to churning out factory hands, rather than fostering innovation and creativity."

This dogmatic, one-size-fits-all approach continues unabated for decades of social and technological advancement. And this is the issue, we are applying antiquated tools to the construction of tomorrow.

The knowledge economy is racing at speeds never seen before. According to the World Economic Forum, the average lifespan of a skill is currently only five years, in certain sectors even shorter. Digital platforms change overnight: from Orkut and Facebook to TikTok and now AI content. What one learns today will be obsolete by the time they join the workforce.

McKinsey forecasts that more than 375 million workers will have to switch careers by 2030 because of automation. This change places flexibility over degrees. The future professionals have to learn, unlearn, and relearn on an ongoing basis.

True education, then, should not only give answers but also instruct on how to ask the correct questions. It needs to breed curiosity, flexibility, and resilience, which can't be standardized or examined but need to be developed on a daily basis.

The age of static learning is behind us. In a world that remakes itself every couple of months, the victors will not be the best-versed, but the most flexible. As Nitin Viijay so elegantly states, education needs to free itself from its industrial heritage and adopt a new ethos: one of progress over performance, curiosity over compliance, and learning as an ongoing adventure and not a phase.

Because in the future, you won't survive based on what you know, but how quickly you can learn whatever is coming next.

Will the Centre act on the regulation following Citizen Rights Foundation raising alarm over high school fees as a contravention of the Right to Education and Equality?

The Department of Higher Education of the Union Ministry of Education, on Friday, instructed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to "examine and submit" a comprehensive report on the proposed Central Education Fee Regulatory Authority (CEFRA)—a statutory body to regulate standard school and higher education fees in India.

The order is issued in the wake of Bengaluru-based Citizen Rights Foundation (CRF), in its memorandum (dated May 9, 2025), urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate legislative and executive action on an urgent basis to curb the commercialisation of education and regulate school and higher education fees in the country.

The Foundation emphasized how the increasing gap between government schools and high-end private schools had increased social inequality, and the poor and middle-class households were being burdened and also pushed into debt in order to provide education for their children.

Declaring that the inability to regulate fees and prevent the commercialization of education was an immediate violation of the constitutional guarantee of equality and social justice, the CRF called for uniform legislation to control the fees, the government to provide affordable and equitable access to education to all citizens and close the corrupt practices in educational institutions through rigorous legislation and effective regulatory enforcement.

Quoting the 'Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka', (1992) 3 SCC 666, the Foundation reminded that the Supreme Court had categorically held that education was not a commodity and commercialization would have to be checked. Still, in the absence of a binding and enforceable regulatory framework, these constitutional obligations are largely going unfulfilled, it lamented.

Placing the emphasis on the Constitutional mandate, the CRF declared that the arbitrary charging of exorbitant fees breached the Right to Education that requires states to make free and compulsory education a provision for all children of six years of age to fourteen years. Article 14 ensures equality before the law. But the existing disparity in fees in educational institutions violates both, it averred.

The Supreme Court judgments in the 'T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka (2002)' and 'Modern Dental College v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2016)' have asserted the necessity of regulation of fees in order to avoid the commodification of education. The judiciary sees fee regulation as legitimate as well as necessary. Although institutions are given autonomy, profiteering is not allowed, opined CRF, voicing alarm at the absence of a single fee regulator for education that has let the "donation culture" run rampant in private institutions.

In its suggestions, CRF recommended that a central law like the Electricity Act, 2003 be passed to introduce a Central Education Fee Regulatory Authority with binding functions to regulate fees, check exploitation, and impose common fee structures throughout India. State Education Fee Committees should have binding power and penalising powers for violations (along the lines of Tamil Nadu Schools (Regulation of Collection of Fee) Act, 2009), and fee structures at similar levels of schooling (primary, secondary, higher secondary) should be uniform, with only objective justification for minor variations (such as for infrastructure costs) subject to regulatory approval. It urged the imposition of the Prohibition of Capitation Fee Act firmly with serious sanctions in the form of cancellation of affiliations, hefty fines, and criminal prosecution of offenders. Accepting that the majority of private schools are now controlled by or patronized by elected members and their associates and friends, the CRF demanded that those people connected with schools who are convicted of fee offenses be disqualified from public office or election, as is the disqualification under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

To address admission malpractices, all school-level admissions should be channelled through centralised government counselling and admission portals, similar to the NEET and KCET models for professional courses. This will eradicate discretion-based admissions and provide transparency, stated the CRF, which urged that an amendment to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 be made to provide detailed and enforceable provisions on fee regulation and anti-capitation measures instead of leaving the issue to the discretion of the state.

After the CRF's letter to the PM, the Cabinet Secretary had given an "urgent communication" (dated June 3, 2025) to the Department of Higher Education, which has now requested the UGC to give a complete framework for CEFRA.

In a nation where private schooling is synonymous with quality, a tiny school in coastal Karnataka has reminded us of the silent revolution in government classrooms. The Government Higher Primary School at Nallur, Karkala, has done something remarkable — not only as an education effort, but as a reinterpretation of community pride and trust.

Earlier this week, the school organized its first parent-teacher meeting of the year. But this was no ordinary PTM. Rather than concentrate exclusively on report cards and attendance registers, the school went out of the way to felicitate 70 parents — parents who had made a deliberate and selfless choice: to send their kids to a government school, away from the established allure of private schools.

Let that absorb for a moment. These are not donors or celebrities. These are everyday people, many from humble means, who opted for faith instead of fear — faith in the public school system, in caring teachers, and in a 100-year-old school celebrating its service.

The felicitation function was symbolic, emotional, and one to remember. Parents sat in a row, humble and overwhelmed, as students showered them with petals. There was no luxury gift or media hype. Just thanks — sincere and genuine. Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar, BEO Girijamma, and some of the dignitaries, including panchayat and SDMC members, were there to witness the moment.

Headmaster Nagesh put it succinctly when he declared, "Government schools are the cradle of the Constitution." He is correct. These schools are not merely about learning — they are about access, equity, and dignity. While marketing-oriented private schools take center stage today, the people of Nallur are setting the example for the nation, demonstrating to the nation that excellence need not cost money.

This level of trust is not developed in one night. It is the result of years of effort, engagement with the community, and the school's commitment to taking it beyond books. Indeed, in a thrilling initiative, the school is organizing a flight experience for Class 7 students — an initiative that not only opens up eyes but also says to children: You can dream big, and we'll get you there.

Why is this important? Because we exist in an era when public schools are dismissed, when enrolments fall and classrooms close. But here in Nallur, a soft counter-narrative is unfolding — one where public education is not merely clinging to life but flourishing.

The Nallur School story is not simply about a felicitation; it's one of faith, of belonging, and of the future of education in India. It's about a school that had the courage to say thank you to its most valuable stakeholders — parents. And in doing so, it's helped initiate a conversation we need to have: What do we want our education system to be, and whom do we want to build it?

This is not only good news — it's a blueprint.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday stated the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)'s decision to conduct Class 10 board exams twice a year from 2026 would de-stress students from the pressure of exams while adding that the Indian school education system is capable enough all over the country to carry out board exams twice a year.

"India has more than 60 school boards, and there has never been a question mark over their capability. The structure of the exams itself is not imposing pressure on the education system. The move to hold board exams twice in a year is not to water down the process, but to decrease stress among students," Pradhan said in an education conclave hosted by a prominent news channel.

Pradhan explained that the National Testing Agency (NTA) is already holding the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) twice annually, enabling students to select the best score.

Based on this concept, we are now bringing the same concept for Class 10 board examination. From next time, students will be given an option to give the board exam twice a year and keep their best mark. This step is suggested by experts and it is set to give flexibility and ease the pressure of exams. Our education system in schools is capable enough to implement this change nationwide," he further said.

CBSE, in the draft policy issued in February, suggested holding Class 10 board exams twice a year from an academic year beginning from 2026. The draft, drawn up as per National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 suggestions, was issued on February 25, and March 9 was set as the deadline to submit feedback.

As per the draft policy, CBSE board exam 2026 for 26,60,000 Class 10 students in 84 subjects would be conducted in two phases in 34 days – 18 days during the first phase from February 17 to March 6 and 16 days in the second phase from May 5 to May 20.

Education minister Madan Dilawar Monday charged a govt school teacher from Banswara with trying to bribe him to take a spot on the state-level curriculum review committee.

Dilawar informed the journalists during a press conference that the teacher, Chandrakant Vaishnav, went to his official residence in Jaipur during a public hearing. He had presented him with a box of sweets, an envelope, his biodata, and a letter requesting to be included in the committee. The minister informed that he accepted the envelope thinking it was a recommendation letter.

"My photographer Bharat then told me that there was cash in it. When I opened it, it contained Rs 5,000 in cash. I was going to head to Ramgarh Dam, but I directed my staff to make him sit there and alerted the police," Dilawar added.

Vaishnav is deployed at Govt Upper Primary School, Budha, in Ghatol block of Banswara district. Officials stated that the accused was suspended on the spot and disciplinary action was initiated by the education department. He was also taken into custody by police and the case was transferred to ACB.

Officials further stated that Vaishnav, a Grade-3 teacher, was not even eligible for the curriculum review committee, which is restricted to Grade-1 teachers.

Conveying his astonishment, Dilawar stated, "I've been in politics for 35-36 years, but never faced such a situation."