Beyond the Classroom: Celebrating Teachers, Stories & Creativity

Literacy has always been at the core of our work at Literacy India.

But every year, when World Literacy Day comes around on 8 September, I find myself wondering whether we should perhaps celebrate it a little later — maybe in February or March, when a child has completed Class V.

Because for me, literacy is not just about being able to read and write a few words. The real question is: Has the child acquired the foundational ability to read, understand, write, communicate and continue learning independently?

That is why this year, instead of simply celebrating World Literacy Day, we decided to test ourselves.

GyanTantra began in 2009 with a fairly simple idea: could technology make learning more accessible, engaging and effective for children who were struggling with conventional classroom learning?

We were fortunate to have people who were willing to believe in an idea before it had been proven.The late Farooque Shaikh was one of them. His humility and groundedness left a deep impression on us.

Then there was Akhil Bansal, CEO of KPMG, whose support and belief in the idea helped us take the work forward. His untimely passing was a personal loss and a loss to many of us working in the social sector.

And Sanjeev Jain, our philanthropist and friend of the initiative, stood by the journey as well.Ideas, however, survive not because of one person, but because many people continue to nurture them.

Over the years, GyanTantra evolved from its early desktop-based learning to a more accessible digital learning platform. Teachers remained at the heart of the process, while technology became another tool in their hands.

Today, more than 3.8 lakh children have gone through GyanTantra.

That number makes us happy, but it also makes us more responsible.

Because reaching 3.8 lakh children is one thing.

Knowing whether they have actually learnt is another.

So, we tested ourselves.The Class V Challenge was our attempt to do exactly that.

The assessment was conducted with the involvement of corporate-sector judges and jury members, Centre In-charges and experienced teachers. Children were assessed through the different rounds, and winners were recognised across Delhi NCR, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.

But beyond the winners, what stayed with me were the children standing up and participating.Some were confident. Some were nervous. Some surprised themselves.

That is what learning should eventually do — give a child the confidence to stand up and say, “I know this. I can do this.”

For Literacy India, GyanTantra is not about technology for technology's sake. It is about finding another way to reach a child.

A child who learns differently.
A child who needs more practice.
A child who has fallen behind.
A child who simply needs someone to believe that they can learn.

Who says our thoughts and emotions cannot cross borders and oceans?

Perhaps there is a language that needs no translation—the language of intent, imagination and creativity.

When Mr. Hidehiko Kitamura, a Japanese entrepreneur, visited the Bajghera School Campus of Literacy India, he saw something that went beyond classrooms and curriculum. Perhaps he saw what we too believe: that children are not only meant to learn, but also to imagine, create and find their own ways of expressing what they see and feel.

That shared belief brought us together through “Art in Education,” a partnership between Mr. Kitamura and Literacy India.

For us, it is a natural fit. At Literacy India, learning has always extended beyond textbooks. We believe in immersive learning—where children learn by doing, observing, experimenting and expressing. Art gives children another way to understand the world and, importantly, to express their own world.

At Literacy India, we believe that a teacher's creativity can make a classroom come alive.

This Teachers’ Day, we celebrated that creativity through our Storytelling Challenge, where our teachers stepped beyond the usual classroom routine and brought stories to life in Telugu, Bengali, Hindi and English.

Different languages, different voices, different ways of telling a story—but one common purpose: to make learning joyful, engaging and meaningful for our children.

For us, creativity in teaching is not an extra. It is a way of reaching a child, sparking curiosity and making them want to learn.

And as we celebrated our teachers, we were reminded of something we often forget in the rush of everyday life: to remember the teachers who helped shape who we are.