Teacher upskilling has emerged as a critical priority amid the rapid shift towards digital-first education, with classroom delivery now increasingly driven by technology rather than treating it as a supplementary tool. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has reinforced this transition by directing its affiliated schools to actively use the PM eVidya CBSE Channel 15 to strengthen teaching practices and student learning outcomes.
CBSE Channel 15 currently hosts 67 educational e-videos for Classes 9 to 11, along with content focused on teacher pedagogy. The videos cover core subjects such as Mathematics, Science and Social Science, while also addressing experiential learning, storytelling pedagogy, assessment strategies, cyber safety and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
"Teacher upskilling is the need of the hour given the fast-paced shift and digital education and evolution. The digital tools now go beyond merely supplementary. It plays a central role in classroom delivery," said Mr Praveen Singh, CEO, AASOKA.
He noted that the evolution of teaching practices has become clearly visible by the end of 2025, driven by policy reforms, classroom digitisation and large-scale capacity-building initiatives. "With the help of digital tools, teachers not only had to reconsider their teaching methods, but also rethink the way they organise and evaluate learning," Singh said.
"Upskilling in 2025 not only covered technical skills but also involved a change in educators' professional personas. A large number of educators reoriented themselves and transitioned into learning facilitators, instead of teachers who mainly provided knowledge," he added.
According to him, India's education system has shifted from emergency digital adoption during the pandemic years to structured digital pedagogy. Teachers are now designing blended learning experiences, focusing on learner engagement, instructional design and classroom management across physical and virtual settings.
Government platforms have played a key role in this transition. Singh pointed out that initiatives under PM eVidya and DIKSHA enabled large-scale, standardised teacher training aligned with national curriculum frameworks, while the National Digital Education Architecture supported data-driven teaching and assessment.
At the board level, CBSE expanded its capacity-building programmes in 2025, introduced new subject-specific training modules and mandated 50 hours of annual professional development for teachers.
"Technology is no longer about screen-based learning. It is about embedding digital tools across subjects to support differentiated instruction and formative assessment," he added.
He emphasised that teacher training must continue to address digital access gaps by equipping educators to design lessons suitable for both online and offline environments. Looking ahead, Singh said the focus must shift from access to effective classroom integration, ensuring technology enhances learning outcomes without widening existing disparities.
