India TV Education Conclave hosts discussions on equipping students with future-forward skills

New Delhi: India TV Speed News recently held the Education Conclave 2025 in New Delhi. The event featured stakeholders from the education sector to conduct discussions on equipping Indian students with future-forward skills.

The Chief Guest, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Education Minister, India, discussed initiatives to enhance the nation’s educational output.

He also talked about the role of  NEP 2020 in influencing the future of students.

Pradhan further reiterated that the policy prioritises education in mother tongues to enhance comprehension and cognitive development.

Addressing a question about the progress in the Indian education system, he expressed optimism in its ability to provide holistic development to an enormous 26 crore student population. In addition, he discussed the role of emerging technologies in education, which are bound to equip students with the necessary skills to compete globally.

The first session of the day, ‘Dakhile ki Daudh, Dakhile ki Hoadh’, started with discussions on the growing pressure of nursery admissions, where parents compete for top schools. The panellists opined that while securing quality education is important, instilling good values in students is equally crucial.

The next session was titled, ‘How are Indian Educational Institutions Enhancing Infrastructure and Curriculum to Meet International Standards?’

As part of it, educationists discussed the need for government initiatives to fall in tandem with quality education and training to meet the needs of a global workforce.

Then, ‘Berozgaari ko karo Kill, Badhao Yuvaaon ka Skill’, emphasised the need for skills in education.

Its keynote speaker, Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, NET, shared his views on the relevance of fields like ML, Data Science, Data Security, Cybersecurity and AI, which will create new jobs and raise employability.

He also stressed upon the need for acquiring skills through digital platforms to stay abreast.

Ritu Dhawan, Managing Director, India TV, said, “India TV Speed News Education Conclave 2025 sparked important conversations about the future of education. By bringing together eminent educationists, policymakers and officials, we hoped to shed light on the improvements in the quality of education in the country.

She added, “In this context, we aim to empower students with the pertinent skills and knowledge to succeed in an evolving world. This conclave is a step forward in ensuring that education remains relevant to the needs of tomorrow’s workforce.”

Following this, the panel, ‘Why do Engineering and Medical Graduates Opt for Civil Services, Banking, or Startups?’ had insights from Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, Technology Development Board, Ministry of Science and Technology. He debated the shift of graduates from core fields, underlining the importance of understanding one's interests early in their education.

He advised parents against pushing children into conventional careers, and hoped that NEP 2020 would help bridge this gap.

The session on ‘The Role of Social Media in Education – Opportunities & Threat’ then discoursed the rising number of smartphones and social media platforms which have emerged as powerful tools of attaining education. Weighing its pros and cons, the panel converged on the need for regularisation to ensure that the right knowledge reaches students. 

During the conclave, a session was devoted to ‘National Education Policy’. It comprised speakers, JS Rajput, Former Director, NCERT and Poonam Verma, Principal, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies. They discussed the relevance of new-age skills and the need for modern learners to adapt to them.

In the next panel, ‘Abroad Education Craze’, HP Gupta, Chairman, IME Group of Colleges and Onkar Bagaria, CEO and Trustee, VGU, Jaipur, examined the reasons behind the pursuit of an education abroad. They delved whether foreign degrees truly guarantee better job placements. 

In ‘Admission is not Guaranteed’, professors from the University of Delhi discussed the struggle of high cut-offs and the CUET entrance examination system, which has rendered board percentiles irrelevant. They focused on skilling, upskilling and re-skilling to stay relevant in today’s job market scenario.

Additionally, the session ‘Indian Education System & the Coaching Industry: Necessity, Business, or Burden?’ underlined on the role of coaching institutes in competitive exams, the challenges faced, and the growing need for regulation.

It also included debates on the financial, emotional, and social burdens that coaching institutes place on students and their families.

In line with this, ‘Paper Leak: System Kaise Thik?’, addressed the critical challenges of building a robust examination system to cater to a vast student population at both national and state levels.

Sanyam Bhardwaj, Controller of Examinations, CBSE and RK Singh, Dean Student Welfare, Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University emphasised the need for corrective measures to be implemented in response to paper leak incidents. 

Towards the end, ‘Is Our Education System Becoming Excessively Competitive and Stressful for Children and Youth?’, underscored the mental pressure students experience, debating instances of student suicide in coaching hubs like Kota.

Dr Sameer Malhotra, Director and Head, Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Max Healthcare, Dr Surabhika Maheshwari, Associate Professor, Psychologist and Pooja Chadda, Senior Counsellor, Amity International School expressed their views on the subject.

They concluded that striking a balance between academic pressure and mental well-being is the need of the hour.