National Education Day:Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's Contribution Towards India's Educational Foundation

National Education Day: November 11, every year, has been celebrated as the National Education Day in India since 2008. The Government of India has announced that this year's celebration theme is "Changing Course, Transforming Education". The day commemorates India's First Education Minister, Dr Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad and his contributions to Indian Education on his birth anniversary. He is remembered as one of the most important and pivotal educationists in India who contributed to the development of education in India.

Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin, also known as Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, was born on November 11, 1888, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He was an academician, a visionary, and a participant in India's freedom struggle. As the first education minister, he made significant strides in educating the rural poor and girls in post-independence India. He was a very vocal advocate of educating women and adults and for modern education with the English language as the medium. He stressed that primary education is a fundamental right for every citizen, without which they will not be able to perform their duties as a citizen fully.

Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad established many of India's most esteemed educational institutions, including the first IIT, IISc Bangalore, Faculty of Technology of Delhi University and Delhi's Central Institute of Education (which later became the education department of Delhi University). He is the founder of Jamila Milia Islamia University and was also responsible for setting up the University Grants Commission in 1953.

National Education Day: The State Of Indian Education in the 21st Century

Indian Education has come a long way based on the foundations established by Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad and others. India's literacy rate in 1961 was 28.3%, while in 2022 it is estimated to be 74.37%. The pace of progress has been rapid in the past few decades, aided by technological developments. Education has spread far and wide, even as far as India's rural population. Quality education and skill development have taken the front seat in the vision for educating the future, especially in this country with such a large young population. 

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