A featured contribution from Leadership Perspectives: a curated forum reserved for leaders nominated by our subscribers and vetted by our editorial board.
Education plays a vital role in shaping a nation's future and creating opportunities for future generations. National Education Day, observed on November 11, 2026, in honour of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, India's first Education Minister, offers an opportunity to recognise the people driving change across India's education landscape.
As the sector evolves, several leaders are contributing beyond traditional classrooms. Their work spans community-based learning, foundational literacy, gender equality, artificial intelligence and international education opportunities. Through these diverse contributions, they are addressing different challenges and opening new pathways for learners. This National Education Day, we spotlight five Indian education leaders whose remarkable journeys reflect the changing priorities and growing possibilities of India's education ecosystem.
1. Rouble Nagi – Taking Education Beyond Classroom Walls
Rouble Nagi, Founder of the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation and Managing Director of Rouble Nagi Design Studio, has built an education initiative that reaches children in underserved communities. Her work combines art, community engagement and learning to make education more accessible to children who have limited access to conventional educational facilities.
Through her foundation, Nagi has developed more than 800 learning centres across over 100 slums, villages and communities, reaching more than one million children. One of her notable initiatives, Living Walls of Learning, transforms neglected public spaces into educational environments through murals and interactive learning activities.
Her contribution received international recognition in 2026 when she won the $1 million GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize. She plans to use the prize money to establish a free vocational and digital literacy institute, extending her work beyond foundational education and helping young people develop practical skills.
Key contributions:
- Established more than 800 community learning centres.
- Reached over one million children through educational initiatives.
- Developed Living Walls of Learning to make public spaces educational.
- Won the 2026 GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize.
On why education should reach every child, Nagi believes:
"Education is not the privilege of a few, it is the right of all."
Her journey demonstrates how education can reach beyond school buildings and create learning opportunities within the communities that need them most.