Selection Upon being questioned that the introduction of Third Language, R1, R2, R3 selection at this time of their academic journey can create anxiety among students, Prof. Saklani said that the language formula dates back to ancient times, it depends upon the child how much he wants to learn. 

He asserted that this is a new learning opportunity for the students. On the question of a child wanting to study a foreign language, he said he can learn as many languages as he wants. This is a learning opportunity that will improve the cognitive mind of a child, he asserted. Through R3, the child will get to learn about his country, he added.

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Speaking on the advantages of liberal education over narrowly focused disciplinary learning, Professor Arindam Banerjee said liberal education does not oppose specialisation but instead emphasises the importance of gaining deep subject knowledge without losing sight of the broader context. 

"Liberal education is not against specialisation. It essentially says that we need deep knowledge without giving up on the context," he said.

Responding to a question on how foreign universities operating campuses in India can maintain academic rigour and deliver an authentic international learning experience, Professor Eloise Phillips said students at the Delhi campus receive the same quality of education as those studying at the university's campuses in the UK and Malaysia. 

"Our academic modules are exactly the same. The same programmes we deliver in the UK are being delivered in Delhi as well," she said.

Responding to a question on how the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will transform India’s education system, Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Director of National Council of Educational Research and Training, said the policy emerged from one of the widest public consultations conducted in the country after the framing of the Constitution. 

“The spirit of the NEP was shaped through extensive consultations across the country to understand what kind of education India truly requires. After Independence, the education policy was expected to change, but for decades the colonial system continued, and that hangover is still visible today,” he said. 

Saklani noted that rote learning remains one of the biggest legacies of the colonial education model, which was originally designed to produce bureaucrats. 

“The hallmark of colonial education was rote learning. The system was created to produce clerical and bureaucratic manpower. NEP 2020 moves away from that approach,” he said. He added that several principles of Mahatma Gandhi’s Wardha Scheme of Basic Education, introduced in 1937, are reflected in the new policy.

“Nearly 65 per cent of the ideas from Gandhi’s concept of basic education can be seen in NEP 2020. We need to move away from rote learning and create an education system focused on understanding, skills and holistic development,” he said.

"NEP 2020 Saw The Widest Consultation Since The Constitution," Says NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani

 Kunal Mehra, Regional Director MENA & India CEO at Crimson Education, said many careers students are preparing for today may not even exist a decade later, making foundational skills more important than ever. 

 Responding to concerns about the future of jobs and education, Mehra said that while nobody can accurately predict what the next 10 years will look like, history shows that every technological era has brought similar fears of disruption.

"Twenty years ago, it was machine learning and data science. Thirty to forty years ago, computers themselves were seen as a major disruption. But what we often forget is that education also plays the role of helping students become grounded in foundational skills," he said. 

 He emphasised that schools should focus more on core abilities such as critical thinking and writing, while also creating spaces where students can explore different subjects and interests. According to him, these foundational skills will help both students and parents adapt better to emerging technologies and changing career landscapes.

Revant Soni, COO, Athena Education, spoke about addressing deep parental anxiety and student confusion in today's education system and stressed the need to help students discover their purpose rather than overwhelming them with more choices. 

"The solution to this is not to put more on the platter, but figuring a way to get to the solution," Soni said. Explaining further, he said students should be encouraged to discover their "ikigai" in some manner. 

"What are you good at, what do you love doing, what does the world need, what can you get paid for. At the intersection of this lies the answer we are looking for," he added.

Speaking at the NDTV LearnNXT Conclave 2026, Dr Anirudh Gupta, CEO of DCM Schools, explained his perspective on what true education means in today's rapidly changing world driven by AI and emerging technologies. Highlighting India's massive and diverse education ecosystem, he said the country has the world's largest K-12 system and stressed that schooling and education are two very different processes.

Dr Gupta said that while students spend nearly 15 years learning curriculum and syllabus in schools, "whatever is left in the child's personality after subtracting all that learning is what education is." Emphasising the need for entrepreneurship, critical thinking and self-directed learning, he said the education system must focus on creating "job providers, not job seekers" in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0.

Prof. Bhagwati Prakash Sharma, Group President (Planning & Control), Pacific Group of Universities, Udaipur, said many state universities are still operating with outdated technological infrastructure, making it difficult to effectively adopt AI-based learning tools.

He noted that several institutions continue to use old computer systems with limited capacity, which affects students' and teachers' ability to access and utilise advanced AI technologies.

Stressing the need for immediate upgrades, Prof Sharma said universities must be equipped with modern tools and digital infrastructure to align with the rapidly evolving technology-driven education ecosystem.

Speaking at the NDTV LearnNXT Conclave 2026, Dr Arvind Kumar Pandey, Director, Echelon Institute of Technology, Faridabad, addressed the growing gap between rapidly evolving industry demands and classroom preparedness. 

Responding to a question on whether educational institutions are struggling to keep pace with fast-changing technologies, Dr Pandey said that while industry requirements are evolving quickly and curriculum revisions in universities often take time, the issue is not entirely with the syllabus itself.

"The curriculum designed by universities is fundamentally correct and created in the right direction to meet industry requirements. However, there is a gap in our thinking process," he said. He emphasised that institutions must shift their focus towards experiential learning, adding that laboratories should become centres of creation rather than just spaces for routine practical work.

 "In the teaching-learning process, three domains should be focused on - cognitive, psychomotor and affective. Out of these, we are largely missing the last two in our teaching methodology," he said. According to Dr Pandey, integrating these aspects into learning can help students develop projects, solve real-world problems and gain practical understanding through innovation-driven lab experiences.

The discussion will focus on how India can prepare a future-ready workforce capable of handling high-pressure and rapidly evolving industries. Speakers will talk about why professional education today must go beyond traditional classroom learning and include real-world exposure through technical labs, defence training systems, and healthcare advisory networks. The session will also explore the importance of industry integration, behavioural resilience, leadership skills, and cross-disciplinary learning in shaping professionals who can adapt, innovate, and perform effectively in critical situations.

The post-lunch session at the NDTV LearnNXT Conclave 2026 has resumed with an engaging discussion featuring:

Vikram R Singh, Founder & CEO, Antier, speaks on the examination system, challenges, paper leaks, result disputes and other such concerns. Is our examination system future-ready? He puts forth the idea of designing smart exam management systems.

Impact and analysis: this is what Chartered Accountants take care of, said Charanjot Singh Nanda.

"The more we progress, the better we can do the analysis," said Charanjot Singh Nanda. "AI cannot harm us, rather AI is an enabler," he claimed. He sees AI as a faithful servant. "AI is a helper and enabler, a Chartered Accountant is a strategic thinker," he added.

With AI doing the accounting jobs and making balance sheets today, here's what ICAI's previous President thinks of the issue:

Check our next session on 'Beyond Bookkeeping - Redefining the CA in an AI World' with speaker Mr. Charanjot Singh Nanda, Immediate Past President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). 

Merry Barua, Founder & Director, Action for Autism, said that it is very important to teach teachers about empathy and innovation. Very often we do not have enough tools, we can then use our mind to create, she said. "Teach compassion to teachers to deal with students with disabilities," she added.

"This is the first time in human history that we are entering into a phase which is unprecedented without a play book. Entering into a phase of life where everything is possible, but nothing is certain,"siad Deepak Bagla, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog Government of India.

Deepak Bagla, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog Government of India, on the theme 'Viksit Bharat 2047: Is the Future of Indian Education Entrepreneurship?' said that the entrepreneurship is taking the centre stage. 

“Today India is number three in the world in terms of unicorns, number two in startups and number one in adding new startups every day,” he said.

“We have over 1.1 crore young entrepreneurs who have moved through Atal Tinkering Labs,” he added.

He further stated that the AI has done complete democratisation of knowledge.

 Deepak Bagla, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog Government of India, discusses on the theme 'Viksit Bharat 2047: Is the Future of Indian Education Entrepreneurship?'

"We are entering a phase of life where everything is possible, but nothing is certain.,” he said.

“The biggest strengths of the Indian education system are the ability to get a job done and the ability to work without a playbook in completely uncharted territory,” he added.

Sumitra Mishra, CEO, Mobile Creche answers what concretely needs to happen in the first three years in a child's life for them to enter the academic space confidently. She said, the science has proven that the earliest years have the highest potential for best returns. 

Dr Rukmini Banerji, CEO, Pratham, says the preschool is a difficult transition. How ready a child is? Children come from varied experiences. Learning and education come later. In the first five years, there is a varied crowd of students. These children are a part of the foundation stage. At this stage, students can progress at various skills, social and cognitive. 

"The Balvatikas and Angadvadis under the NEP 2020 is ready for that", she added.

Highlighting the importance of early childhood development, Siddhant Sachdeva, Co-Founder of Rocket Learning, said solving challenges related to foundational learning requires collective efforts from the entire community. He described Anganwadis as a key part of the solution and said the organisation works closely with Anganwadi workers to bring “joy in the teaching-learning process”. 

“We genuinely believe that Anganwadi is India’s secret superpower,” he said, noting that the country’s nearly 14 lakh Anganwadi centres represent a rare community-driven implementation model that very few countries in the Global South possess.

Deepika Mogilishetty, EkStep Foundation, said that "we do not have a choice", all other things will become insignificant if we do not pay attention to the first eight years of childhood. The National Education Policy of India is asking us to look at the first eight years as a continuum of learning, she added. 

"We should invest in the first eight years of childhood as if our life depended on it, because it does," she asserted.

Deepika Mogilishetty, EkStep Foundation, answers why the formative years are so important. 

Dealing a very crucial conversation of the time, where children going to pre school now will grow up in a world transformed by Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, and constant tech disruptions, listen to our speakers discussing the early stages of learning for a child. 

Before a child ever encounters a formal curriculum, their cognitive trajectory is decided in the very first years. What is the need of the hour when it comes to early childhood care and education. Knowing the massive technological and structural shifts that lie ahead, how can we give our youngest the best possible start to a lifetime of learning? Discussing this, meet our panel:

Samyukta Subramanian, Program Head, Pratham Education Foundation shares today's reality that more than 95 per cent children are enrolled in schools. She talks about infrastructure, development and RTE. 

Responding to a question on the impact of nourishment and ways to reduce dropout rates, Venkat shared an emotional anecdote from a workshop organised by a US-based information security company. He recalled that after the session, the company’s CSR head introduced him to a young woman named Suma, calling it a “bigger surprise than a big cheque”.

“She told me that she was an orphan and had received meals from The Akshaya Patra Foundation at her orphanage for nearly 10 years,” Venkat said. 

“There are several such examples where nutrition and access to education have transformed lives, especially for girls,” he said.

“Nutrition and access to education have the power to transform lives, especially for girl children. Educating a girl child can transform generations. A collective focus on nutrition, education, sanitation and hygiene can bring meaningful change to the country,” said Shridhar Venkat.

From power of one to the power of the community, Neeru Yadav, Sarpanch, Lambi Ahir Gram Panchayat, Jhunjunu, Rajasthan, said education is the only medium that can change your circumstances. She aims of basic education for all her village children. She also talked about book-free learning for children.

Upon being asked if rural parents see sending their kids to school as an investment and do priorities change when its about survival, Tinni Sawhney, CEO, Aga Khan Foundation, said every parent want their child to be successful. She added that the enrollment in schools have increased over the last few years, its important that we now focus on quality, learning, and parental engagement in schools.

Meet our next set of speakers discussing enrollment, dropouts, transition from primary to secondary levels, and bringing the rural into the mainstream. 

Trying to understand a painting by a kid that resembled a black colour on the entire page with a small grey box in the middle, Nagi asked the child what it meant. The kid shared his experience of his step father locking him in the room when his mother goes out to work. The child also expressed his desire to wear a collared uniform and go to school. 

Nagi shares her encounter with a six year old kid who had never seen a pencil. 

Nagi shares her experience of people questioning her why do they need to send their children to school. Check her ground report from Kashmir and other places. 

Nagi painted slum walls with Mathematics, History lessons, and learnings. She used the innovative ‘Living Walls of Learning’ concept to turn underserved communities and neighborhoods into interactive textbooks, bringing one million children back into the mainstream through the power of visual literacy.  

"Being an artist, you don't sleep," says Nagi. She beautified the walls and living spaces of underprivileged communities and slums through her art. "I love children. I am happiest when I am surrounded by them, she added.

Know how Rouble Nagi, the recipient of the Global Teacher Prize 2026, used the innovative ‘Living Walls of Learning' concept to turn underserved communities and neighborhoods into interactive textbooks, bringing one million children back into the mainstream through the power of visual literacy.  

NDTV is bringing together India's top education voices, policymakers, and global academia leaders for a day-long discussion on the future of learning.