India's largest education board visits Agastya's Campus

The Innovative Education Conclave was organized at Agastya Campus Creativity Lab, at Gudivanka, near Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh from 18th to 20th December 2025. The Conclave was held in collaboration with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), India's largest education board.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is one of the largest and most influential school education boards in the world. It currently affiliates over 30,000 schools in India, covering 1.3 million teachers and 40 million children. Known for its strong emphasis on STEM education, competency-based learning, and continuous curriculum reforms, CBSE plays a pivotal role in shaping school education in India.

The conclave brought together 70 school principals and senior officials from CBSE-affiliated schools across 20 states, along with senior leadership from CBSE. The aim was to encourage participants to Agastya’s experiential learning approach and understand the challenges and opportunities in education from the principals and educators.

The event featured laboratory visits (art studio, innovation hub, physics, chemistry, biology, biodiscovery lab, and math park), a planetarium session, and hands-on model-building activities, immersing participants in experiential learning.

Besides the lab visits, the conclave featured inspiring addresses by Ramji Raghavan, Founder and Chairperson of Agastya, and interactive sessions by eminent scientists, including Dr. A. S. Kiran Kumar, Former Chairman, ISRO, and Former Secretary, Department of Space, and Dr. V. K. Aatre, Former Head, DRDO, who shared perspectives on innovation, scientific temper, and education for a rapidly emerging India.

The conclave witnessed the participation of senior leadership from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), including Rahul Singh, IAS, Chairperson, CBSE; Himanshu Gupta, IAS, Secretary, CBSE; Manoj K. Srivastava, Director (Training), CBSE; Vivek Kumar Singh, IRSEE, Chief Vigilance Officer, CBSE and Dr. Ram Shankar, Director and Regional Officer & Head, Centre of Excellence, Dubai, shared insights on leadership, teacher professional development, and innovation in school education.

Agastya’s Teacher Transformation Program team also engaged participants in experiencing constructivist pedagogical methodologies and creating model-making activities through a hands-on approach. As part of the conclave, Agastya also unveiled the book Teaching Reimagined – Journeys of Impactful Educators, a compilation of success stories from teachers, with a foreword by Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan.

Participants appreciated the campus's unique blend of natural surroundings and well-equipped laboratory facilities, citing its potential to boost student engagement. A demo on constructivist teaching resonated with participants, encouraging student-led exploration.

The conclave concluded with a shared commitment among CBSE educators and leaders to explore collaborations with Agastya for institutionalizing experiential learning approaches within their schools, intending to enrich science education and nurture curiosity-driven learning.