National Education Day 2025 | 11 Nov 2025

Why in News? 

India celebrates National Education Day on 11th November, to mark the 137th birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of independent India and a key architect of the nation’s modern education system.

Key Points

• National Education Day:
  • It is observed every year on 11th November to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888–1958)
  • The observance was first announced in 2008 by the then Ministry of Human Resource Development (now the Ministry of Education).
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: 
  • He was born on 11th November 1888, in Mecca and later settled in Calcutta (Kolkata), where he emerged as a leading scholar and nationalist.
  • He served as India’s first Minister of Education (1947–1958) and introduced major reforms to strengthen scientific, technical, and cultural education.
  • He was instrumental in establishing the University Grants Commission (UGC), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), as well as cultural bodies like the Sahitya Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi, and Sangeet Natak Akademi.
  • In recognition of his immense contributions, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1992.