Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: The Person who Named IIT and Built the Education System in India

Many know Maulana Abul Kalam Azad as a freedom fighter but very few are aware of his role in setting up the educational system in India. He had many feathers to his cap, from an educationalist to a journalist and from a poet to a political leader. Maulana Azad was the first education minister of Independent India and in his tenure, he drastically changed the Indian education system and helped set up the educational pace with many institutes, schemes and policies. 

He emphasised basic education and in a speech at a conference of All India Education on January 16, 1948, he famously said, "We must not, for a moment, forget that it is a birthright of every individual to receive at least the basic education without which he cannot fully discharge his duties as a citizen." For this, he strongly advocated free and compulsory education for all up to the age of 14 but also felt the need for higher education to form a new India. To support this, he played a vital role in setting up some of the most decorated educational institutes and commissions. 

His Role in Naming the IIT

The first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) was established by Jawaharlal Nehru in Kharagpur in May 1950, when India felt the need for science and technology in higher education. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology-like (MIT) model was thought and the name ‘Indian Institute of Technology’ was adopted by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad before the inauguration of the institutes. This was the beginning of a revolution in the technology field and today as we all know IIT produces some of the best engineers in the country. 

Establishing UGC

Soon after Independence, the University Education Commission was set up in 1948 under the Chairmanship of Dr. S Radhakrishnan to report on Indian university education and suggest improvements and extensions that might be desirable to suit the present and future needs and aspirations of the country. Finally, in 1952, it was decided that all cases pertaining to the allocation of grants-in-aid from public funds to the Central Universities and other Universities and Institutions of higher learning might be referred to the University Grants Commission. After all the procedure and paperwork, consequently, the University Grants Commission (UGC) was formally inaugurated by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the then Minister of Education, Natural Resources and Scientific Research on 28 December 1953. To date, this Commission looks into the coordination, determination, and maintenance of standards of university education in India. 

Other Works of Maulana Azad

Along with these institutes, he was instrumental in many other educational facets of India. He was elected as a member of the foundation committee to establish Jamia Millia Islamia at Aligarh (U.P) and in 1934, he assisted in shifting the campus of the University from Aligarh to New Delhi. He also played a pivotal role in establishing the Central Institute of Education, Delhi (now, the Department of Education of Delhi University) and also emphasised the development of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Faculty of Technology of Delhi University.

He was truly the “Emperor of Learning” as referred to by Mahatma Gandhi and due to his efforts the Indian education system gained new heights in terms of system, infrastructure and most importantly imparting knowledge at a higher level.