– Ashish Trivedi, PhD, Head of South Asia and Japan at the International Baccalaureate
India’s next education story will increasingly be shaped beyond its largest cities. The country’s school system serves approximately 247 million students across more than 14.7 lakh schools, according to the Ministry of Education. Nearly 58 percent of these schools have fewer than 100 students, with many located beyond major metropolitan areas, where community aspirations are evolving. These schools play an important role in expanding educational opportunities and responding to the changing expectations of families. As aspirations grow, the question is how schools can equip students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.
Conversations with school leaders and families across India reveal a consistent aspiration: parents want strong academic outcomes, but they also want education to help children think critically, communicate confidently and engage with the wider world. At the same time, they want their children to remain connected to their culture, language and community. These expectations reflect a broader understanding of education that extends beyond academic achievement. The challenge is to create learning experiences that prepare students for global opportunities while grounding their education in the realities of their own lives.
Global ambition and Indian identity can reinforce one another
There is a persistent assumption that students must choose between global opportunities and a strong connection to Indian culture. Parents want their children to succeed in a competitive world while understanding their heritage and social responsibilities. Effective educational approaches recognise that these aspirations can reinforce one another rather than compete. They give students the knowledge and skills to understand international perspectives while encouraging them to examine their own communities, traditions and experiences more deeply. Such an approach helps students develop a broader worldview without losing sight of their cultural identity.
The idea of combining openness with rootedness is not new to India. Over centuries, the subcontinent has been shaped by exchanges in scholarship, trade, migration, language and ideas while sustaining distinct intellectual and cultural traditions. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, drawn from the Maha Upanishad and often translated as “the world is one family”, offers one expression of this outlook. More recently, the principle informed the theme of India’s G20 Presidency: “One Earth, One Family, One Future.” Together, these ideas offer a useful perspective on education that connects local understanding with global awareness. This is the essence of globally connected, locally rooted learning, in which international perspectives and Indian realities shape the educational experience from the outset.
This approach is also consistent with the direction of India’s education reforms, which place increasing emphasis on critical thinking, competency-based and experiential learning, multilingualism, and connections between knowledge and lived experience. India’s linguistic diversity provides another important foundation for this approach. UNESCO’s 2025 Bhasha Matters report notes that the country is home to 1,369 languages and highlights the importance of language in learning. Incorporating students’ home languages can strengthen comprehension, classroom participation and conceptual understanding. The report also recommends integrating indigenous knowledge and community participation into school practices. Language, culture and local knowledge can therefore provide a foundation for students to compare perspectives, question assumptions and engage meaningfully with the wider world.
How this looks in the classroom
A globally connected, locally rooted classroom begins with the world students know and uses it to develop skills that extend beyond their immediate surroundings. A student exploring water security, for instance, might begin by examining water availability in their city before comparing how communities elsewhere manage scarcity. A discussion about entrepreneurship could start with a neighbourhood enterprise and then explore business models in other parts of the world. In both cases, the learning begins with a familiar context but develops capabilities that are relevant across different settings. These include research, analysis, communication, problem-solving and the ability to compare different approaches to shared challenges.
Inquiry-based learning makes this connection possible by encouraging students to investigate questions rather than receive information passively. Students learn to gather evidence, evaluate information and consider multiple perspectives before reaching conclusions. This approach can help them understand how classroom concepts relate to the challenges they encounter in their communities. It also encourages them to take greater responsibility for their learning and recognise that complex problems rarely have simple solutions. When supported by clear learning objectives and appropriate assessment, inquiry can strengthen conceptual understanding while maintaining academic rigour.
Examples of this approach can be seen in schools across India. In Hyderabad, student Adit Nikhil Upadhye launched Tech4All, an initiative aimed at expanding access to technology and education for underserved communities. The initiative connects local action with broader questions of equity, innovation and opportunity. In Mumbai, student Radha Malhotra encountered children beginning school in Karjat with torn bags and broken pencils. Having learnt to view problems as part of larger systems, she recognised that lasting change requires solutions communities can sustain and build upon. Her Lost Property Found initiative now redirects unused resources to communities that need them, demonstrating how local observations can lead to practical responses to wider social challenges.
Globally connected learning is often interdisciplinary, encouraging students to address challenges by drawing on knowledge from several subjects. For example, understanding water security may involve science, geography, economics and public policy, while exploring entrepreneurship may combine mathematics, communication and social studies. Such learning does not require lowering academic expectations or compromising subject knowledge. Globally benchmarked standards can coexist with the flexibility educators need to make learning meaningful in the contexts in which students live. By connecting academic concepts with real-world questions, schools can help students develop a deeper understanding of their subjects and apply their knowledge to unfamiliar situations.
Teachers make global learning locally meaningful
None of this can be achieved through curriculum design alone. Teachers must connect learning objectives with students’ realities without reducing Indian culture to occasional references or celebrations. This requires continuous professional learning, collaborative planning and the confidence to adapt teaching practices while maintaining academic rigour. Educators need preparation that helps them translate global principles into locally meaningful classroom experiences rather than focusing solely on curriculum delivery. They must also be equipped to recognise the different linguistic, cultural and social contexts in which their students learn. Cultural relevance, therefore, needs to inform teacher preparation, classroom resources, inquiry and assessment from the beginning.
Given India’s scale and diversity, widening access to high-quality learning will depend on more than curriculum alone. Effective teaching requires supportive school leadership, opportunities for professional collaboration and sustained investment in teacher development. These elements can help schools strengthen inquiry, conceptual understanding and student agency while remaining responsive to the communities they serve. Teachers also need the flexibility to draw on local knowledge and experiences without losing sight of broader academic goals. By investing in educators and school leadership, India can create learning environments in which students are encouraged to question, explore and apply their knowledge with confidence.
Global perspectives, Indian roots
India has an opportunity to develop young people who are confident in their cultural identity and equally capable of engaging with complex global challenges. Achieving this requires educational approaches that value local knowledge while equipping students with the skills to understand different perspectives and navigate an interconnected world. Schools can play a central role by creating learning experiences that connect academic concepts with community needs, cultural contexts and international developments. Such an approach can help students recognise the relevance of their education while developing the confidence to participate in a changing world. It can also encourage them to view their local experiences as valuable starting points for understanding wider challenges.
The goal is not to prepare students only for life abroad, but to equip them to collaborate, compete and contribute wherever their education and careers take them, within India or internationally. India’s scale, diversity and long tradition of engagement with the wider world provide a strong foundation for bringing these aspirations together. Realising this opportunity will require sustained attention to teaching quality, curriculum implementation and the needs of different communities. Ultimately, the aim is to build classrooms that remain deeply connected to their local contexts while opening doors to global perspectives. Global learning and Indian roots need not be competing priorities; together, they can help shape a more relevant and inclusive education for the next generation.
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