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EdBank’s Founder on India’s 1st Community-Powered Platform For Teacher Training

“EdBank’s inception shows that the Indian education sector is open to learning when given a good opportunity. It also proves that our teachers do not and will not step back at any opportune moment.”

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EdBank was launched in July 2020, amidst the global COVID-pandemic…a time when the entire education sector had to go virtual overnight and resort to online learning. That was the right moment for an online platform like EdBank, which is a community-powered platform for educators, to launch and support the warrior-teachers. Today, this online education bank helps exchange knowledge, perform research, serve resources, and share recommendations between teachers and school leaders. Apart from this, it connects people, practices, and pedagogies to empower schools and in turn, inspire the next generation.

CEO & Founder, Mr. Ravi Santlani informs, "EdBank is supported by Common Wealth of Learning which is considered the Mecca of Teacher-Training, a body created by several countries across the world. Having Common Wealth of Learning as our knowledge partner is truly a golden opportunity. Other than this, EdBank is under regular discussion with other government and non-government bodies to partner with."

Read the excerpts from the conversation with Mr. Santlani talking about EdBank’s journey so far and its various courses that are taking the education sector by storm.

What inspired you to start EdBank? Remember its initial days. 

In my career of five years in the education field, heading India’s one of the largest media houses that focuses on K-12 education, I realised that there was no such platform for our educators to come together and exchange their knowledge. Filling this gap soon became my mission and I took up the R&D work. The plan was to create an online space that we, as an educational media house, would want to leave behind as a legacy.

The team has learnt a lot since the inception of its idea. It was a great experience to have such learned, veteran educators spending their valuable time to record sessions with us. While at it, we also learned using many technical tools that helped us with the recordings, editing, case studies, questionnaires and assessments. The silver lining in this dark cloud of the pandemic is that we managed to launch EdBank on time. 

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What are the specific features, according to you, that make EdBank one of the most efficient online learning platforms for educators? 

There are different features under the banner and the brand EdBank. The first thing we launched was the online teacher training. Till date, 9 courses and 68,000 learning hours have been delivered to about 9,000 educators from different parts of the country. Next, we’re planning to launch the second feature called ‘Communities.’ In this, we would give an opportunity to the educators to come together and discuss the various topics that they would like to learn or teach the community. There will be different forums and topics available to interact on, like Early Childhood Education, primary & middle years’ pedagogy, content, curriculum, technology, etc. Apart from this, we’ve got another feature called ‘Resources,’ wherein educators would be able to share their resources like curriculum, lesson plans, tools and training materials with others.

And finally, we plan to launch the ‘Recruitment’ section. This will be an exclusive portal which will make job applying, hiring and the selection process easier for teachers and recruiters. We are also ambitious about giving a 10-second video tool to the educators who would want to put forth their resume in an interesting manner. This will make it easier for hiring sides to filter out the finalists for the said job. In fact, recruitment interviews with video CV option on an end-to-end encrypted platform with full privacy guaranteed will be possible soon. 

Which collaborations/courses would you say stood out the most until now?

Without a doubt, it's ‘Coding in Eary Years’ by Dr. Swati Popat Vats, the President of ECA, APER & Podar Education Network. It is one of the most visited courses on the platform to date. We have been very exclusive about the type and quality of the courses that appear on EdBank, though this slows us down as the processing takes longer than usual. So far, we’ve received interests from over 600 educators who wish to conduct a course on EdBank but we’ve been very careful and particular of our choices. 

Since each course is unique in its own way, we are leaving no stones unturned and taking steps cautiously. Another thing that comes into play is the educator who’s conducting the course. Their own footing and following in the educational ecosystem is a major part when it comes to attending the courses. Dr. Vats, as I said, is a big influence, especially among early childhood educators and trainers in India. 

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In courses like ‘Coding in Early Years,’ the audience aka the registered educators also need hands-on experience apart from the regular theoretical data. How does EdBank or the mentor-in-charge provide this opportunity?

Honestly, there are limitations of virtual learning even though it reaches more people than any physical seminar ever can. In such cases where the students are educators themselves, they already have a basic knowledge of the topic so the entire learning process becomes easier. 

Dr. Vats’ course comparatively is less technical and more learning-oriented, for example. She’s provided the learners with her experienced knowledge which has more to do with ‘coding’ in daily life and activity, not the literal ‘coding.’

Additionally, we sent across a book authored by Dr. Vats named ‘Yash and Yashika Learns Coding’ to those who enrolled for her course, so they could get a hold of the topic right from the basics to teaching it to their students in the future. We also have a live chat section to help clear the doubts of the attendees.

What do EdBank and the instructors you collaborate with have common in their vision?

The common goal is to leave a legacy behind and not to take the immensity of knowledge repository to the grave. Also, to archive the thoughts and learnings of these amazing educationalists that others can gain from, especially during emergencies like a pandemic. Imagine having a platform where the crème de la crème of the education sector would record and save their life’s learnings for the coming generations to take inspiration from. 

The topic of ‘Humor in Classroom’ is rather new and untraditional in an Indian set-up. Talk about the response you've received on this? Also, what's your takeaway?

While we were doing a conference ‘The Mad Conclave’ a few years ago, we wanted to invite the Ad-guru Prahlad Kakkar for it. Due to time constraints, he could not join us and so, we zeroed in on Pratish Nair, who is the managing director and co-founder of the Prahlad Kakar School of Branding and Entrepreneurship. Mr. Nair came like a storm and the most amazing thing about him was his humour. Since then inviting him to the otherwise dull conferences and giving them a new life became a constant for us.

So, when we reached out to him to ask if he had a topic in mind for EdBank, his immediate response was to record a session on ‘Humor in Classrooms.’ This couldn’t get better. Humour is one of the most significant ways to connect teachers and students emotionally. This course is undoubtedly one of the most phenomenal and memorable ones. The response so far is enormous, even the educators who did not initially support the idea of humour in their classrooms were bound to rethink.

I personally feel that Mr. Nair should consider writing a book on his ideas and philosophies as it can help many educators come out of a formal, orthodox setup and consider some good laughs a healthy part of their teaching style.

Lastly, how do you see EdBank leading in the future and contributing to the education sector?

We are very confident and hopeful that in the years to come, EdBank will become a go-to learning platform for every teacher. We are also planning on creating courses in different languages to welcome a diverse audience. It doesn’t matter which board they teach for, CBSE, ICSE, or IB, they can easily log in and improve their skills. 

Simultaneously, we’re trying to identify educators who are at the top of their game and can conduct unique courses efficiently. We envision EdBank as a platform that attracts teachers to come and learn rather than spend hours scrolling through Google and other apps.

We are also working towards building a tool that will allow educators to go Live, pick a topic of everyone’s interest and explain it directly to the viewers in real-time. This will send a notification to the possible attendees that a chat room is created and they are welcome to join it. Here, EdBank will act as a virtual staffroom, allowing chatting, making new friends in the education sector, and discussing their ideologies & philosophies.

I strongly believe that EdBank’s successful launch has written history, it shows how the Indian education sector is open to learning when given a good opportunity. It also proves that our teachers do not and will not step back at any opportune moment.

Education

Beyond the Numbers: Reading Between the Lines of UDISE+ 2024–25

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The UDISE+ 2024–25 report highlights progress in teachers, dropouts, and infrastructure, but deeper challenges in quality, access, and inclusion remain. (AI generated image for representational purposes)

The Ministry of Education’s latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2024–25 report offers an important snapshot of India’s school education. The numbers reveal progress across teachers, enrolments, infrastructure, and gender representation. But as with any large-scale dataset, the fuller story emerges when these achievements are held against persistent challenges on the ground.

Key Improvements Highlighted in the Report

Teachers and Student Ratios

For the first time, India has crossed the one crore mark in the number of teachers. From 94.8 lakh in 2022–23 to over 1.01 crore in 2024–25, the increase represents a 6.7% rise within two years. The Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) too has improved sharply, now standing at 10 for the foundational stage, 13 at the preparatory level, 17 in middle school, and 21 in secondary. All of these are comfortably better than NEP 2020’s recommendation of 30:1, suggesting children now have more access to individual attention.

Dropouts and Retention

Dropout rates have fallen across the board. At the preparatory stage, they are down to 2.3%; in middle school to 3.5%; and in secondary to 8.2%. Retention, meanwhile, has climbed, with 92.4% of students staying on through the preparatory stage, 82.8% at middle, and 47.2% at secondary—supported by the increase in schools offering higher grades.

Transition and Enrolment

More children are continuing their education without breaks. Transition from foundational to preparatory is up to 98.6%, and from middle to secondary to 86.6%. Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) has also risen, with secondary education seeing an uptick from 66.5% to 68.5%.

Infrastructure Growth

Infrastructure remains a bright spot. Over 93% of schools now have electricity, 99% provide safe drinking water, and 97% are equipped with girls’ toilets. Computer access has grown to 64.7%, internet access to 63.5%, and more than half of schools now have ramps and handrails, improving accessibility.

Gender Representation

Representation of women in teaching has crossed 54%, and girls’ enrolment has edged up to 48.3%, showing slow but steady progress towards gender parity.

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Where the Numbers Need Context

While the report reflects genuine gains, the full picture requires a closer look at what these numbers mean in practice.

Teachers: Quantity vs Quality

Crossing the one-crore milestone is historic. Yet reports continue to highlight shortages in subject specialists and concerns about teacher training. A strong student-teacher ratio is valuable only if classrooms are led by well-prepared, motivated educators.

Dropouts: Regional Gaps Persist

The steady fall in dropout rates is promising, but averages mask uneven realities. States like Bihar still struggle with alarming dropout figures, particularly among girls and marginalised communities. National averages hide state-level realities.

Access Without Schools

It is encouraging to see single-teacher and zero-enrolment schools on the decline. However, the deeper problem isn’t just these schools but the absence of schools altogether in thousands of villages. Maharashtra alone has over 8,000 villages without schools. That’s not a statistic you’ll find in the UDISE+ summary, but it matters when we talk about access.

Digital Infrastructure: From Presence to Practice

Computer and internet access are on the rise, yet, other surveys suggest that many of these facilities remain underused, serving as placeholders for inspections rather than as tools for learning. Less than a quarter of India’s 1.47 million schools have smart classrooms. Digital literacy among students and teachers is patchy at best. So while infrastructure is expanding, its integration into actual pedagogy lags far behind.

Inclusion: Beyond Ramps

Ramps and handrails are a welcome start, but inclusion for children with disabilities requires much more. How many schools have accessible toilets, special educators, or learning aids for children with disabilities? And the bigger question: how many children with disabilities are actually enrolled and attending school regularly? Current data rarely tells us this.

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Gender: Representation Without Leadership

Girls’ enrolment is up slightly to 48.3%. Female teachers now account for 54.2% of the workforce. Encouraging signs, yes. But leadership remains a male stronghold. Across higher education, only about 9.5% of institutions in India are led by women. At the school level too, women remain underrepresented in principal and leadership roles. Representation in classrooms is improving; representation in decision-making is not.

Reading the Report Holistically

The UDISE+ 2024–25 findings point to a system that is steadily improving access, retention, and infrastructure. But progress cannot be measured in isolation. Numbers must be matched with quality, access must be inclusive, and representation must extend to leadership. A fuller picture of Indian education comes not from rose-tinted fragments but from an honest balance of achievements and unfinished work.

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Edutainment

Weaving Social-Emotional Learning into the Curriculum

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Embedding SEL into lessons prepares students for life beyond exams. (This is an AI-generated image used for representational purposes)

When we think of school learning, the first things that come to mind are math equations, science experiments, history timelines, and grammar rules. But education isn’t only about academic skills—it’s also about preparing students for life. This is where Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) steps in, transforming classrooms into spaces that nurture not just minds, but hearts.

What is Social-Emotional Learning?

Social-Emotional Learning is the process through which students acquire and apply skills to:

  • Understand and manage emotions
  • Build healthy relationships
  • Show empathy for others
  • Make responsible decisions
  • Set and achieve positive goals

In simpler terms, SEL is about helping students become self-aware, emotionally intelligent, and socially responsible. 

Why Should SEL Be Part of the Curriculum?

For decades, education focused on the “3 Rs” – reading, writing, and arithmetic. Today, we know that EQ (Emotional Quotient) can be just as important as IQ. Studies show that integrating SEL into the curriculum leads to:

  • Improved academic performance
  • Reduced stress and anxiety
  • Fewer behavioural issues
  • Stronger peer relationships
  • Better conflict-resolution skills

A student who learns how to manage frustration or work well in a team is more likely to thrive both inside and outside the classroom.

How SEL Fits into Different Subjects

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  • Language and Literature – Discussing characters’ feelings in a story builds  empathy and perspective-taking.
  • Science – Group experiments encourage collaboration and respectful communication.
  • Mathematics – Problem-solving in pairs or teams fosters patience and perseverance.
  • Social Studies – Exploring diverse cultures promotes acceptance and respect.

Practical Ways to Embed SEL into Curriculum

  • Morning check-ins: A quick emotional “temperature check” helps teachers understand students’ moods.
  • Role-play activities: Encourage students to act out scenarios that require empathy or problem-solving.
  • Collaborative projects: Promote teamwork, negotiation, and leadership skills.
  • Mindfulness breaks: Simple breathing exercises can improve focus and emotional balance.

When SEL is woven into lesson plans, we move from an education system that simply imparts knowledge to one that shapes compassionate, resilient, and adaptable individuals. In a world that is constantly changing, these life skills are not optional—they are essential.

Final Sum-Up

Social-Emotional Learning doesn’t replace academic learning; it enriches it. By combining books with empathy, logic with kindness, and grades with grit, we can prepare students not just for exams, but for life.

This article is authored by- 

Ranjith P C, Head- Curriculum Excellence, TVS Education

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Education

Education with Purpose: Shaping Responsible Learners for a Better Tomorrow

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Education must go beyond grades. Shishir Jaipuria writes on skills, values, AI, NEP 2020, and teacher empowerment to shape responsible learners for tomorrow.

Education is the wellspring of civilization. It begets arts, culture, sciences, and polity to create a society oriented towards discovery and development. Through the ages, education has evolved to meet the needs of the times, and presently, it has reached an inflection point. The inexorable advancement of technology, abundance of information, pressing societal challenges and climate crisis have compelled educators to re-imagine education for the 21st century.

With the rapid prevalence of generative artificial intelligence, the question rightly being asked is: “What should we teach children when almost all answers can be readily had from AI?” The education of tomorrow would reward critical thinking over knowledge. That is what our focus and onus as educators should be. Children, being the digital natives, are more inclined to leverage the full potential of technology. It is up to us to help them realize and understand that AI should augment – not replace – HI (human intelligence). To think critically, to understand, to create and innovate should always be the preserve of humans. The ‘human-first, tech forward’ approach should become the cornerstone of education, going ahead. 

An equal focus has to be on building skills, values and attitudes to address the most pressing problems of the world today. The World Economic Forum’s Education 4.0 framework underscores the importance of nurturing global citizenship, environmental stewardship, growth mindset, adaptability, civic responsibility, socio-emotional awareness, empathy, and kindness. The challenge is to find ways to model these into learners’ personality, traits and behaviours. 

Re-designing curricula, taking learning beyond classrooms, and reforming assessments could be the answer. Marks and grades can only be one of the benchmarks of learning. Time has come for us to consider skill-based and value-based assessments to reflect a learner’s competence and character. Here, the National Education Policy 2020 – with its progressive vision – can be the guiding compass to steer us towards a more holistic and value-driven paradigm of learning.  Institutions should also harness technology to create personalized learning pathways to meet the unique needs of each student. 

None of this transformation would be possible without more empowered and enlightened teachers. Progressive institutions are already taking a lead in continuous professional development of their teachers and staff. On their part, teachers will have to be open to unlearn and relearn, upskill and reskill to stay abreast of the new pedagogies and technology. They should be adept in delivering personalized learning using data-driven insights and adapt to the new role of facilitators in an ecosystem where student agency is growing increasingly assertive. Schools must actively engage with parents and students to help them understand the need to look beyond grades. Parents must be informed of the changing jobs market and the importance of building durable skills. 

Reforms and initiatives are also required at the policy level to attract private capital into an education landscape where private schools are outnumbered by government schools but cater to about half of the total 24.8 crore school-going student population. The potential of public-private partnerships should also be explored to elevate the quality of education in government schools. Digital infrastructure across the nation has to be strengthened to make learning accessible to the last child in the remotest of places. Creation and dissemination of multi-lingual content will enhance inclusivity of learning in the new Bharat.   

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Today, the education fraternity, governments, and parents need to collaborate to facilitate this transition into Education 4.0. We need to re-envision education as a human development endeavor to create a sustainable future wherein prosperity goes hand-in-hand with people and the planet. Right intentions need to be followed with earnest action. The future will be India’s to claim. 

This article is authored by-

Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman, Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions

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Education

Empathy as a 21st-Century Competency: Developing Emotional Intelligence among Students

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Explore how schools can nurture empathy from early childhood to young adulthood.

Within the conversation of future-ready education, empathy has moved from being characterized as a “soft” individual characteristic to being identified as an essential social and cognitive ability. Frameworks such as the OECD Learning Compass 2030, UNESCO’s Global Citizenship Education, and the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report put empathy at the forefront of skills required to succeed in an uncertain, interdependent world. 

From Emotion to Competence

Empathy is confused with sympathy, yet they are essentially different. Empathy is an active, cognitive, and affective process, the capacity to grasp another’s emotional situation, comprehend it in context, and react creatively. Neuroscientific research, for example, by Decety and Jackson (2004), illustrates that empathy engages both the limbic system, which controls emotional resonance, and the prefrontal cortex, which controls perspective-taking and rational reaction. Briefly put, empathy does not just mean “feeling with someone”, it means thinking with feeling, where intellect and emotion unite to shape behaviour and decision-making.

Early Childhood (Ages 3–6) – Seeds of Empathy

At the age of three to six years, children in early childhood start showing the beginning signs of empathy by what is termed as “emotional contagion” by psychologists. They tend to cry when others cry or smile when others smile due to the observed emotional state. By the time they are four or five years old, according to research conducted by Zahn-Waxler et al. (1992), children start showing other-oriented concern like sharing, comforting, or embracing a fellow child who looks distressed. Empathy at this age is still primarily affect-based; children sympathize with others but possess little ability to grasp intricate frames of mind. Teachers can cultivate these early roots of empathy through narrative, role-playing, and guided social-emotional education that offer the vocabulary and structure to make sense of emotions.

Middle Childhood (Ages 7–12) – Perspective-Taking Develops

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By middle childhood, around ages seven to twelve, empathy is increasingly cognitively complex. They start to understand that people might think and feel differently from themselves, an ability outlined in Selman’s stages of perspective-taking. Peer relationships are increasingly important at this stage, and children increasingly become sensitive to fairness, belonging, and group membership. According to research by Eisenberg et al. (2010), this is a critical window for the instruction of moral reasoning in addition to empathy. Cooperative learning activities, peer mediation programs, and community service offer children meaningful opportunities for empathy extension from intimate friendships to include strangers and even members of out-groups.

Adolescence (Ages 13–18) – Abstract and Global Empathy

An important stage in the development of empathy is adolescence, which lasts from the ages of thirteen to eighteen. Adolescents gain the ability to relate to abstract ideas such as global emergencies, injustice, and inequality. According to Blakemore’s (2018) neuroimaging research, adolescent brain regions involved in identity formation and social cognition are more active. However, hormonal changes and heightened self-awareness are also hallmarks of adolescence, which makes young people more reflective. Schools can assist in this area by offering intentional opportunities for teenagers to develop empathy, such as discussion forums that foster critical thinking, service-learning initiatives that are linked to current events, and cross-cultural interactions that extend their horizons. Adolescents can use these activities to channel their growing empathy into constructive civic engagement.

Young Adulthood (18+) – Empathy as Leadership Skill

Empathy matures during late adolescence and young adulthood as a skill that is intricately linked with emotional control, leadership, and ethical choice. Now, it transcends interpersonal interaction to become the hallmark of effective leadership. More employers are realizing this; a 2022 LinkedIn survey indicated that 78 percent of employers view emotional intelligence as equally or even more important than technical skills. Universities and workplaces increasingly require such competencies, and schools can prepare young adults through leadership programs, mentorship positions, and reflective practices that instil empathy in civic and professional life.

Beyond Awareness to Application

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While awareness of empathy is valuable, its real utility comes from practice. Schools need to inculcate empathy not only in coursework but in lived experience. Narrative immersion in literature, film, and even virtual reality allows students to step into other people’s shoes. Structured ethical discussions in dialogic classrooms offer the space for respectful disagreement and deeper understanding. Cross-age mentorship, where older students mentor younger ones, develops a sense of responsibility while strengthening bonds across age. Service-learning, when paired with structured reflection, develops empathy into action. Even cutting-edge tools that offer emotional analytics while working in a team can assist students in self-evaluating and managing their emotions, turning empathy into a mindful and deliberate process instead of an automatic reaction.

The 21st-Century Payoff

The dividend of developing empathy in education is significant. In a world of artificial intelligence, empathy is one differentiator that makes us uniquely human. The World Economic Forum (2025) identifies emotional intelligence, empathy, and collaboration as among the future workforce’s top ten skills. Students who can read emotional team dynamics, negotiate across cultures, and build authentic relationships are not just more hireable but indeed invaluable in a fast-paced professional landscape.

Empathy is not a mushy virtue but a developmental skill that develops systematically throughout childhood and adolescence. Schools that deliberately foster it are not just creating smarter students; they are raising wiser, kinder citizens who can lead with compassion and resilience. Empathy is a moral and practical necessity for 21st-century education, the bridge that unites emotional intelligence and the needs of an interconnected world.

(This article is authored by Dr. Silpi Sahoo, Chairperson, SAI International Education Group)

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Education

Math Meets Machine: How AI Is Revolutionising Classroom Learning

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AI is redefining Maths as a subject in our classrooms (Image Source- Pexels/Google DeepMind)

In a world where algorithms power everything from our social media feeds to self-driving cars, it’s no surprise that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming one of the oldest pillars of education—math learning in the classroom. Once confined to textbooks and chalkboards, math instruction is now getting a high-tech upgrade, ushering in a new era of personalised, engaging, and data-driven learning.

Cracking the Code: Why Math Needs a Makeover?

Let’s face the fact that many students see math as abstract, intimidating, or just plain boring. Traditional classroom approaches often take a one-size-fits-all route, leaving behind both the struggling learner and the gifted problem-solver. This is where AI steps in, not to replace the teacher, but to empower them with tools that adapt to each student’s pace, gaps, and style.

Enter AI: The Digital Math Mentor

Imagine a classroom where a student struggling with fractions gets instant, visual explanations tailored to their exact misunderstanding. At the same time, another who excels in geometry is offered advanced challenges to stretch their thinking. AI platforms are doing just that. They use real-time data to analyse student responses, detect patterns of error, and provide feedback that feels like one-on-one tutoring.

Far from replacing educators, AI acts as a powerful teaching assistant. Teachers can use AI dashboards to spot who needs extra help, where the class is lagging, or what concepts need reteaching without spending hours on manual assessments. This frees up more time for creativity, collaboration, and real-life math applications that bring numbers to life.

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AI also allows classrooms to become more inclusive and equitable. Language barriers? AI can offer multilingual support. Visual learners? Dynamic simulations and interactive tools adapt seamlessly. Students with special needs? Personalized pacing ensures no one falls through the cracks.

What’s Next? The Future of Math + AI

As AI grows more sophisticated, so does its potential in math classrooms. Think AI-generated practice problems based on local news, gamified learning paths that turn algebra into an adventure, or virtual tutors available 24/7 for homework help.

But with great power comes great responsibility. Educators, parents, and developers must ensure that AI tools remain ethical, transparent, and supportive, not controlling or biased.

Math education is no longer just about memorising formulas or solving problems on paper. In the AI-powered classroom, it’s about curiosity, connection, and confidence. With the right blend of technology and teaching, we’re not just raising better mathematicians but combining critical thinking with the subject for a world powered by data and driven by ideas.

This article is authored by- 

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Ranjith P C, Head Curriculum Excellence, TVS Education

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Education

Nirvaan Birla on Why Social Media Needs a Rethink in Today’s Classrooms

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Nirvaan Birla, Founder, Birla Open Minds urges a rethink on social media in classrooms

What happens when self-worth becomes a scrolling statistic? When confidence is measured in likes, validation is sought in comments, and a missed post feels like a missed opportunity, social media quietly becomes more than a platform; it becomes a mirror that distorts.

For the younger generation, the digital world isn’t an escape. It’s their reality. What once was a space for fun and connection now silently dictates their self-image, decisions, and even mental health. A carefully crafted caption, the right filter, or a viral reel can spark joy, but it can also fuel anxiety, insecurity, and constant comparison.

As engaging as social media is, it comes with an invisible cost. The pressure to be constantly available, consistently appealing, and endlessly relevant can take a toll. Many teenagers find themselves trapped in a loop of approval-seeking, often mistaking online popularity for personal worth.

Online peer pressure has evolved from being subtle to strategic. Likes are currency, stories are reputation, and every post is performance. Combine that with cyberbullying, misinformation, and the relentless pace of content, and you’ve got a digital space that’s as overwhelming as it is addictive.

Yet, knowing how to use social platforms doesn’t mean knowing how to handle them. Digital literacy has surged, but digital emotional intelligence still needs nurturing.

Recognising the urgency of this shift, Nirvaan Birla, Founder of Birla Open Minds, shared, “We see it every day. The impact social media is having on the younger generation’s mental and emotional wellbeing is significant. That is why at Birla Open Minds, we have initiated sessions like ‘Likes vs. Life’ across our schools. These sessions are designed to help learners reflect on their relationship with social media, how it affects their confidence, their focus, and their sense of self. Our larger vision is to shape not just academically strong individuals but also emotionally resilient ones who can navigate the digital world with awareness and responsibility.”

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The idea isn’t to villainize social media. It’s to humanize its users. What the younger generation needs most isn’t just digital access, but digital awareness. The ability to pause. To question. To ask: Is this who I really am, or just who I’m trying to be online. Because beyond the reels, hashtags, and likes lies something far more important: life. And that should never be lived for an algorithm.

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Education

Teaching Privilege: Why It Belongs in Every Classroom

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Why students must learn to recognise privilege in school—and how that awareness can build empathy, not guilt. (Representational AI Image)

Here’s the thing about privilege: most of us don’t even realise how it shapes our choices, our comfort zones and the opportunities we chase

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, but it hit me harder during a recent conversation with a college student. One of the factors they had in mind while choosing their higher education institution was that most of the students there came from similar economic backgrounds. They felt uneasy at the thought of being in a space where others might be less privileged than them. And just like that, it became clear: even the discomfort of being around inequality is, in itself, a kind of privilege.

Here’s the thing: privilege wears many faces. Money, yes. But also caste. Gender. Language. Skin tone. Disability. Geography. And then there’s what Gen Z calls “pretty privilege”—the unspoken perks of fitting society’s standards of attractiveness. These aren’t abstract ideas. They play out every day—in who gets picked, who gets heard, who gets help without asking.

This isn’t about guilt. Guilt gets us nowhere. Awareness, though? That’s powerful. Students should be taught to recognise the invisible lifts they get. It’s not just that some kids have better shoes—it’s that they’ve never had to worry about having shoes. It’s not just about who studies in English-medium schools—it’s about who gets praised for speaking English at all.

Privilege doesn’t cancel out hard work. It explains the head start. And when students understand that, they become better humans. They stop seeing success as a solo act and start acknowledging the small privileges they enjoy. These can be supportive families, access to tutors, clean water, a safe route to school. Things so normal for some, they fade into the background. Afterall, acknowledgment is the first step to building empathy.

So where do schools come in? Right at the heart of it. Not with token assemblies or once-a-year poster competitions, but with consistent conversations. Through stories, books, theatre, debates—whatever gets them to look up from their own experience and into someone else’s. Not to feel bad, but to build perspective. And maybe, just maybe, to use their privilege to lift someone else.

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This isn’t about shaming anyone or turning life into a comparison game. It’s about empathy and responsibility. When students know they benefit from privilege, they can harness it to help others. They can mentor younger kids, fundraise for resources, or simply speak up when they see inequality in the classroom.

This isn’t a curriculum change. It’s a mindset shift. It’s the difference between raising achievers and raising citizens. If we teach kids to see both their own comfort and the struggles of others, we’ll nurture a generation that doesn’t just accept their advantages but shares them too.

If we want an education system that prepares students for the real world, then recognising privilege isn’t a side-topic. It’s foundational.

(This article is authored by Dhruv Chhabra, Lead-Content and Design at ScooNews and reflects the author’s personal beliefs and lived observations as an education journalist and storyteller. It is written with the hope that classrooms can become kinder, more aware spaces.)
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Education

India Plans Unified Higher Education Regulator: What the HECI Bill Means

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India proposes HECI to subsume UGC/AICTE/NCTE, promising unified standards for higher education

India is on the verge of a major overhaul in how it governs higher education, with the government aiming to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) with the proposed Higher Education Commission of India (HECI). The move, aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, seeks to create a more efficient, autonomous, and accountable regulatory system.

Why Replace UGC, AICTE & NCTE?

The current structure—with multiple agencies overseeing different sectors—has long faced criticism for being fragmented and bureaucratic. Overlaps in jurisdiction, slow decision-making, and limited autonomy for institutions have prompted calls for reform. Committees like the Yash Pal and National Knowledge Commission have recommended a unified regulator to reduce red tape and improve coordination.

What HECI Will Look Like

According to the draft and Lok Sabha updates by Education Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar, HECI will have four independent verticals:

  1. Regulation (NHERC) – compliance and governance

  2. Accreditation (NAC) – quality assurance

  3. Grants (HEGC) – performance-based funding

  4. Academic Standards (GEC) – curriculum and learning outcomes

This “light but tight” approach aims to foster innovation and autonomy while maintaining integrity and transparency.

Potential Benefits

  • Streamlined oversight: Instead of navigating multiple authorities, institutions will liaise with one regulator.

  • Better resource allocation: Integrated funding vertical offers performance incentives, echoing models in the UK and Australia.

  • Unified standards: Accreditation and curriculum will be uniform, reducing interstate disparities.

  • Global alignment: Can enhance India’s appeal with international quality frameworks.

Risks & Concerns

  • Centralisation: Experts warn that vesting extensive power in one body may over-centralise control, risking academic freedom.

  • Loss of specialised oversight: Domain experts from UGC, AICTE, and NCTE may be diluted.

  • Bureaucratic inertia: Transition could bring its own delays and resistance from existing bodies.

  • Compliance complexity: Institutions may face confusion adapting to new norms and vertical structures.

Global Inspiration & Way Forward

Many countries offer models worth emulating: the UK’s Office for Students (OfS), Australia’s TEQSA, and the US’s accreditation agencies show that one-regulator systems can work—if they strike a balance between oversight and autonomy. The NEP framework supports this, but success hinges on a smooth transition, capacity building, and safeguarding academic freedom.

In short, HECI is more than an institutional reshuffle. It has the potential to redefine Indian higher education—if implemented thoughtfully. The challenge now lies in building consensus, streamlining regulatory roles, and ensuring this new body empowers institutions, not constrains them.

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This news has been sourced from various media outlets, with parts of it written and contextualised by the ScooNews editorial team.

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Education

Student Suicides Account for 7.6% of All Cases in India: What the Govt Is Doing Next

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Multi-pronged measures were being rolled out to address the crisis, including psychological support for students, teachers, and families.

In a sobering update shared in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar, revealed that student suicides constituted 7.6% of all suicide cases reported in India in 2022. While marginally lower than the figures in 2021 (8.0%) and 2020 (8.2%), the data underlines an ongoing mental health crisis among the nation’s youth.

The statistics were drawn from the Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) report published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), as per the minister’s written response in Parliament.

Recognising the urgency of the matter, the Centre has ramped up efforts to address student mental health through a multi-pronged strategy. This includes psychological support not only for students but also for educators and families, aiming to create a more holistic safety net within the education system.

As reported by The Indian Express, Minister Majumdar highlighted the Ministry of Education’s Manodarpan initiative, which has reached lakhs of students across India through tele-counselling, webinars, and live interactions. Parallel efforts under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) now cover 767 districts, offering suicide prevention services and life skills training in schools and colleges.

Adding to this, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued advisories to higher education institutions urging them to prioritise student welfare, fitness, and emotional well-being. Institutions like IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, and IIT Guwahati have started conducting resilience-building and stress management workshops under the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme.

Addressing addiction among youth, the Centre has also intensified anti-drug campaigns to accompany its mental health outreach.

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Separately, the Ministry of Education is in the process of drafting legislation to establish the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), aiming to unify regulation under a single authority. The new body will replace existing agencies like the UGC, AICTE, and NCTE, aligning with the NEP 2020 vision of a “light but tight” governance framework that promotes autonomy, innovation, and accountability.

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Education

When AI Reaches the Top of Bloom’s—and Our Students Are Left Behind

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In a world where AI can mimic art, our children must master the art of being human (Representational AI Image)

We often talk about how AI is transforming education, but are we talking enough about what it’s quietly taking away?

CREATIVITY

As Sir Ken Robinson often reminded us,“Creativity is as important as literacy.”

And yet, in a system so focused on marks, rubrics, and outcomes,creativity is often the first thing we sacrifice.

Bloom’s Taxonomy places Creating right at the top,but in many classrooms today, it feels like AI has reached that level faster than our students have.While children are still figuring out sentence structure and grammar, AI is already generating poems, paintings, and polished presentations with a single click.

Which brings us to a deeply uncomfortable question:

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What happens when AI starts to “create”?
And more importantly—what happens when our students stop?

Today’s AI isn’t truly creative.It mimics. It reuses. It draws from patterns and reproduces what’s already been done.And if we don’t pause now to protect what’s uniquely human,we risk raising a generation of students who know how to use tools,but don’t know how to think.

Everything’s Starting to Look the Same

I’ve seen it. You’ve probably seen it too.

Creative writing tasks that sound strangely uniform.Artwork that feels formulaic.Presentations that are polished, yes, but empty.AI has democratised access to intelligence,but in doing so, it has started to flatten creativity.We’re now at a point where students are outsourcing not just answers,but imagination.

But true creativity cannot be prompted.It’s messy. It’s emotional. It’s born out of thinking, feeling, failing, and trying again. It lives in how we interpret the world. In how we care. In how we connect.

How Can We Bring Creativity Back?

We need to bring back the building blocks of creativity.

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READ
Let students read more deeply,not just skim or summarise.Let them feel what’s in the pages, get lost in ideas, debate their favourite character in a book or movie, and form their own emotional connections.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Let’s re-focus on learning through doing,projects, fieldwork, play, nature, making mistakes, working with hands, collaborating, and reflecting.It’s in these non-linear, real-world experiences that creativity quietly blooms.

FINDING THE PURPOSE
We need to pause and ask: What is this child truly passionate about?
It could be animals, gardening, football, art—anything that sparks joy and curiosity.
Once we discover that passion, we can connect learning to it.
Let’s not just ask what they’re reading, but why they’re reading it.
What inspires them? How can that interest help them solve real-world problems?
That’s when learning becomes meaningful,and creativity starts to flow with purpose.

Because by the time they grow up,the world won’t just need people who can use AI – It will need people who can imagine what AI cannot.

(more…)

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