In a major move towards transforming India's education system, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have inked a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on technological innovation, research, and educator training.
Transforming Education Through Technology
The collaboration seeks to utilise cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in teaching, learning, assessment, and school management. It is in line with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasises accessibility, inclusivity, and quality in education.
The MoU was signed officially by Himanshu Gupta, Secretary, NCERT, and Prof. Manu Santhanam, Dean (IC & SR), IIT Madras, in the presence of Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary (School Education & Literacy), Ministry of Education, who presided over the ceremony.
Focus Areas of Cooperation
NCERT and IIT Madras will cooperate in the following areas under the agreement:
-Development and sharing of high-quality digital learning content
-AI/ML-powered personalised learning and adaptive education tools
-Teacher continuous professional development (CPD) programs
-Partnership research, data handling, and analytics
-Inspiring multilingual and inclusive learning environments
Leaders Prioritise Future-Ready Learning
Emphasising the importance of the MoU, Shri Sanjay Kumar emphasised how all textbooks need to be "born digital" and available in 22 scheduled languages so that each child learns in their mother tongue. He further called upon the creation of content with the help of gamification, AR, VR, and immersive learning technologies.
Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Director, NCERT, said the collaboration marks a “major stride toward realising the vision of NEP 2020 by harnessing technology for accessible and inclusive education.”
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, added that the institute is committed to developing indigenous digital and pedagogical solutions to strengthen India’s educational framework.
The collaboration between NCERT and IIT Madras is a milestone in educational research, innovation, and digitalisation. Through their joint efforts, the institutions seek to build future-ready, technology-enabled learning environments that make students, as well as teachers, across India empowered.
