Rouble Nagi, on Monday, shared emotional experiences from her grassroots education work while speaking at the NDTV LearnNXT Conclave 2026.
During the session "The Power of One: Beyond The Blackboard - Reimagining Learning," Nagi recalled moments that pushed her to work towards improving education access for underserved children. Sharing one such experience, Nagi said she was shocked when a six-year-old child could not recognise a pencil.
"A six-year-old had never seen a pencil. I was not ready to believe it. That day was a wake-up call for me," she said.
Nagi said her journey in the education space began with an art camp organised with Pratham Education Foundation. She also spoke about counselling parents in underserved communities, where she encountered resistance towards formal education.
"There was a time when a parent asked me, 'Why should my child go to school? Why should they study?' That shocked me," she said.
The Global Teacher Prize 2026 recipient highlighted the challenges children face while transitioning from primary to secondary education and said dropout rates remain a serious concern. She said her dream is to see India achieve "100% literacy" and stressed the importance of supporting children who struggle academically.
"The child who comes last needs more attention than the child who comes first. That child has already been left behind and bullied," she said.
Nagi also shared her own childhood struggles, saying she could not speak English till Class 4 and had once failed her mid-term examinations.
"If my students had not held my hand during that phase, I would have gone back to my father and said either put me in a Hindi-medium school or I will not study," she said.
Speaking about creativity and learning, Nagi said she continues to encourage aspiring artists and believes creativity should be nurtured from an early age.
The NDTV LearnNXT Conclave 2026 is bringing together educators, policymakers, edtech leaders and global institutions to discuss the future of education, inclusivity, AI-driven learning and curriculum reforms in India.