Mon Nov 11 01:47:17 UTC 2024: ## National Education Day Honors Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the Architect of Modern Education in India

**New Delhi, November 11:** India celebrates National Education Day on November 11th, honoring the legacy of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the country’s first Education Minister and a prominent scholar, freedom fighter, and educationist. The day commemorates his invaluable contribution to shaping modern India’s educational landscape.

Maulana Azad played a pivotal role in India’s independence movement and played a key role in establishing crucial institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the University Grants Commission (UGC). He was also the youngest president of the Indian National Congress (INC), demonstrating his exceptional leadership qualities and forward-thinking vision.

As the first Education Minister after independence, Maulana Azad focused on providing education to the underprivileged, especially girls and rural populations. He emphasized adult literacy, free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14, universal primary education, and diversifying secondary education with a focus on vocational training.

His legacy lives on in the Jamia Millia Islamia University, where he was instrumental in its establishment in Aligarh in 1920. Later, he played a key role in shifting the university campus to New Delhi in 1934, where his name adorns the main gate.

National Education Day was first celebrated on November 11, 2008, to honor Maulana Azad’s tireless work in advocating for a well-educated, secular, and integrated India. His vision continues to guide India’s progress towards achieving its educational goals and ensuring that every citizen has access to quality education.

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