Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was the first education minister of India
National Education Day 2022: The National Education Day is being celebrated on November 11 every year since 2008 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Azad played a significant role in shaping the country's education system and laid the base for higher education and scientific research.
Azad has contributed to the set up of several academic institutes- University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Secondary Education Commission, other bodies. The institutes like Jamia Millia Islamia and IIT Kharagpur were established during his tenure. He was also responsible for establishing Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Sahitya Academy, Lalit Kala Academy, Sangeet Natak Academy and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). ALSO READ | National Education Policy 2020 Promoting Mother Tongue, Regional Languages: Union Minister Dr Subhas Sarkar
According to Maulana Azad, schools are laboratories that produce future citizens of the country. "The primary aim of any system is to create balanced minds which cannot be misled," he said.
The former president Pranab Mukherjee described Azad as an institution builder and said that several academic bodies like University Grants Commission owe their origins to his tireless efforts. "To create socio-religious and cultural inter-linkages in India, he set up a number of institutions - Lalit Kala Academi, Sangeet Natak Academi and Sahitya Academi," Mukherjee said.
Maulana Azad was posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna, country's highest civilian award in 1992.