national education day

                          National Education Day is an annual observance in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of independent India, who served from 15 August 1947 until 2 February 1958. National Education Day of India is celebrated on 11 November every year.

                         The Ministry of Human Resource Development had on 11 September 2008 announced, "The Ministry has decided to commemorate the birthday of this great son of India by recalling his contribution to the cause of education in India. November 11 every year, from 2008 onwards, will be celebrated as the National Education Day, without declaring it a holiday."

Activities during the celebration of National education day:

                         Educational institutions at all levels across the country will celebrate November 11 as the ‘National Education Day’ by the way of Seminars, symposia, essay-writing, elocution competitions, workshops and rallies with banner cards and slogans on the importance of literacy and nation's commitment to all aspects of education.

The objective of celebrating National education day:

                         The objective of celebrating National Education Day should be to strengthen our educational institutions and to raise the quality of education to greater heights. 

                         It should be an occasion to remember Maulana Azad's contribution in laying the foundations of the education system in an independent India as well as to evaluate our current performance in this field. So on this day, all people who are involved in the field of education should come together to seek ways to advance India's prestige in the world, as a knowledge society and to focus on how to educate our people.

                                 National Education Day: The first IIT, IISc, School of Planning and Architecture and the University Grants Commission were established under Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s tenure.

• On November 11 every year, India celebrates the national education day with institutions across the country conducting competitions, seminars, and workshops. 

        MAULANA AZAD:  :            
                            Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was the country’s first education minister after India won independence from colonial rule. He served as the education minister from 1947 to 1958. He was born on November 11, 1888, and the National Education Day is celebrated in his memory.

•                          Maulana Azad emphasized quality education as he considered schools to be laboratories which produce future citizens of the country. He strongly advocated universal primary education, girls’ education, free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14, vocational training and technical education.

•                           His real name was Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin. He started a weekly journal in 1912 in Urdu called Al-Hilal to increase the revolutionary recruits and was awarded India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna in 1992. Most of the major cultural and literary academies we have today, including the Sangeet Natak Academy, Lalit Kala Academy, Sahitya Academy as well as the Indian Council for Cultural Relations were established by Azad. The first IIT, IISc, School of Planning and Architecture and the University Grants Commission were established under his tenure.

•                         The University Grants Commission has asked educational institutions across the country the celebrate the day by organizing seminars, symposia, essay writing, elocution competitions, workshops and rallies with banners, cards, and slogans. The day aims to spread awareness about the importance of and the nation’s commitment to education.