At THE WEEK Education Conclave 2026, experts emphasized that India's education system requires significant reforms to move beyond rote learning and rigid structures, particularly in the face of rapid technological advancements like AI and the growing demand for personalized learning. They argued that true educational excellence lies not in exam results or rankings, but in an institution's capacity to equip students with purpose, adaptability, and real-world skills, framing excellence as a continuous journey of discovering and fulfilling one's purpose. Key challenges identified include the system's inability to scale personalized learning, the disconnect between traditional teaching methods and the rapid pace of global change, and the need for greater humility, responsibility, and freedom within institutions, suggesting a shift towards environments that foster curiosity, experimentation, and independent growth over restrictive models.

At THE WEEK Education Conclave 2026, experts emphasized that India's education system requires significant reforms to move beyond rote learning and rigid structures, particularly in the face of rapid technological advancements like AI and the growing demand for personalized learning. They argued that true educational excellence lies not in exam results or rankings, but in an institution's capacity to equip students with purpose, adaptability, and real-world skills, framing excellence as a continuous journey of discovering and fulfilling one's purpose. Key challenges identified include the system's inability to scale personalized learning, the disconnect between traditional teaching methods and the rapid pace of global change, and the need for greater humility, responsibility, and freedom within institutions, suggesting a shift towards environments that foster curiosity, experimentation, and independent growth over restrictive models.

At THE WEEK Education Conclave 2026, experts emphasized that India's education system requires significant reforms to move beyond rote learning and rigid structures, particularly in the face of rapid technological advancements like AI and the growing demand for personalized learning. They argued that true educational excellence lies not in exam results or rankings, but in an institution's capacity to equip students with purpose, adaptability, and real-world skills, framing excellence as a continuous journey of discovering and fulfilling one's purpose. Key challenges identified include the system's inability to scale personalized learning, the disconnect between traditional teaching methods and the rapid pace of global change, and the need for greater humility, responsibility, and freedom within institutions, suggesting a shift towards environments that foster curiosity, experimentation, and independent growth over restrictive models.

India's education system must move beyond rote learning and rigid structures if it is to prepare students for a rapidly changing world shaped by artificial intelligence, personalisation and emerging technologies, education experts said during a panel discussion on "What are the reforms needed to foster excellence in education?" at THE WEEK Education Conclave 2026.

The panellists argued that excellence in education cannot be measured merely by examination results or institutional rankings but by an institution's ability to equip students with purpose, adaptability and real-world skills.

Dr M.K. Badrinarayanan, Professor and Associate Dean at the School of Management, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS), described excellence as a continuous journey rather than a destination. "Excellence is discovering purpose and fulfilling it," he said, adding that innovation is only one pathway among many, alongside research and meaningful action.

Drawing attention to structural challenges within India's education ecosystem, Badrinarayanan said students often spend years moving through the education system only to question whether they made the right choices. He noted that while industry increasingly demands hyper-personalised learning and customised talent, educational institutions continue to grapple with scalability and implementation challenges.

Prof Biswajoy Chatterjee of the University of Engineering and Management, Jaipur, said the pace of change confronting today's students is unprecedented. Comparing educational excellence to successful hospitals and films that fulfil their intended purpose, he argued that institutions must rethink traditional teaching methods.

"The world is changing at a pace never seen before," he said. "Educators are trying to learn and unlearn, while Gen Z is learning directly."

Using artificial intelligence as an example, Chatterjee said conventional classroom approaches often lag behind technological realities. Instead of spending weeks teaching the theory behind chatbots, he argued, students should be encouraged to build and experiment with them from the very beginning.

Vinay Kumar G.B., Director of Insights IAS, Bengaluru, stressed the importance of humility, responsibility and freedom within educational institutions. He identified excessive restrictions, unresponsive governance and limited academic freedom as major barriers to excellence.

According to Kumar, rigid attendance requirements and classroom-centric learning models often prevent students from exploring their interests and developing independently. Educational institutions, he said, must create environments that encourage curiosity, experimentation and personal growth.

A common thread running through the discussion was the need for educational reforms that balance scale with personalisation, embrace technological change and give students greater freedom to learn, innovate and discover their purpose in an increasingly complex world.

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