At the Table Where India's Education Future Gets Decided

On 24 April 2026, some of the most important voices in Indian education gathered under one roof at the India International Centre, New Delhi. The occasion was CSF EDuConclave 2026, hosted by Central Square Foundation, a full day of honest, high-stakes conversations about foundational learning, early childhood education, and the road ahead for every child in India. The Chimple team was in the room, listening, learning, and contributing to one of the most significant education convenings of the year.

The EDuConclave brought together senior officials from the Ministry of Education, state government leaders, philanthropy and civil society partners, researchers, and EdTech organizations, all united by a single question: how do we ensure that every child in India builds strong foundational skills? The day was anchored in five years of the NIPUN Bharat Mission, reflecting on what has worked, what needs to accelerate, and what the next phase of reform must look like.

The opening set a powerful tone. Shri Sanjay Kumar, IAS, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, reminded the gathering that education reform is not the work of any single institution: "Education is not the responsibility of Sarkar alone, it is a collective effort of Sarkar, Samaj, Bazaar, and Sanstha." That framing of shared, systemic responsibility, resonated through every session that followed.

Shri Vinod Kumar Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, who delivered the keynote, brought urgency to the room: "I urge more action from philanthropy… the urgency we face now requires much more, given the crucial window we have right now." From reflections on the NIPUN journey to district-level practitioners sharing what practice excellence actually looks like on the ground, the day moved between ambition and ground reality in equal measure.

A session that held particular resonance for the Chimple team was School se Screen Tak: Leveraging EdTech for Quality Education in Bharat, a showcase and panel discussion on how technology can move from promising pilots to genuine, lasting learning outcomes at scale. Shri Dheeraj Sahu, IAS, Additional Secretary, DoSEL, Ministry of Education, offered a challenge the entire sector must take seriously: "If technology is not improving learning outcomes in classrooms at scale, it is not innovation, it is a distraction." It is a bar Chimple holds itself to every day.

The Chimple team also had the privilege of attending the roundtable event, during which members and officials from the US Embassy were present. The event was insightful, bringing together education organizations working at the intersection of technology, equity, and foundational learning. These kinds of cross-sector, cross-border exchanges are important reminders that the questions India is grappling with how to reach every child, how to make learning joyful and measurable, how to scale what works, are global questions with local answers.

And perhaps the most joyful moment of the whole day came courtesy of Masti Ki Paathshala a puppetry performance by Sesame Workshop featuring young learners from Ghaziabad, which turned a conference hall into a happy, wonder-filled classroom. It was the perfect reminder of why every session, every roundtable, and every policy conversation ultimately exists: for the children.

For Chimple, EDuConclave 2026 was an energizing and grounding experience in equal measure. It affirmed that foundational learning is firmly at the centre of India's education agenda — and that joyful, evidence-based tools built for children who need them most have a real and growing place in that story.