Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced 11th November as National Education Day. 11th November marks the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Union Minister of Education for India from 1947 to 1958.

Schools will observe National Education Day by organising seminars, symposia, essay writing competitions, elocution competitions, workshops and rallies with banners, cards and slogans on the importance of education and the Nation’s commitment to all aspects of education on 11th November, 2019.

Malana Azad became the leader of the Khilafat Movement, during which he worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi. He became the youngest person to serve as the President of the Indian National Congress at the age of 35. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was elected as a member of foundation committee to establish Jamia Milia Islamia at Aligarh. He assisted in shifting the campus of the university from Aligarh to New Delhi in 1934.

As India’s first Minister of Education, he insisted on the importance of educating the rural poor and girls. As Chairman of the Central Advisory Board of Education, he gave furthered causes like adult literacy, universal primary education, free and compulsory for all children up to the age of 14 and educating girls.

Maulana Azad was instrumental in setting up the Central Institute of Education, Delhi, which later became the Department of Education of the University of Delhi. The first Indian Institute of Technology was established in 1951 under his leadership. The creation of University Grants Commission and the development of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Faculty of Technology of the Delhi University were some of the main institutes he helped develop.