Governor Jishnu Dev Varma Calls for Decolonised Education
Jishnu Dev Varma urged educators and policymakers to shape a value-driven education system that harmonises technology with timeless human principles
Hyderabad: Governor Jishnu Dev Varma said education cannot progress by imitating others while neglecting its own roots. Speaking at the inauguration of the 54th Annual Conference of the Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE), hosted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) in Hyderabad on Wednesday, he urged educators to rethink how Indian classrooms define learning, success and modernity.
“After 80 years of independence, we need to decolonise our education syllabus and curriculum,” he said. “Teaching must evolve into a mentoring process that draws from the Guru-Shishya Parampara.” The three-day conference brought together representatives from over 70 school boards, including Cambridge International and the International Baccalaureate, to discuss policies and the evolving meaning of Indian education in a globalised world.
Dr Yogita Rana, secretary to the government of Telangana, remarked that systems do not transform through documents but through conviction. “Education is not transformed by policy alone, but by people who believe in its promise and act upon it,” she said. Her comments echoed the Governor’s call for education that values empathy and human connection. The Governor had reminded participants that “the human touch, the inculcation of empathy, and the thought of taking development to the last person in the line” must remain at the heart of schooling.
Speakers across sessions repeatedly returned to the question of balance—between progress and conscience, between technology and values. Dr Rana called this equilibrium the test of future education. “The future will be defined by how courageously we embrace change—integrating technology with values and innovation with inclusivity,” she said.
The Governor took that thought further, warning that technology and invention must be guided by moral principles. “Otherwise, humans will become machines or super robots,” he said.
CISCE Chief Executive Dr Joseph Emmanuel and COBSE President Dr G. Immanuel described the conference as a platform to exchange ideas across institutions and to derive meaning from practice rather than theory. The opening session, titled Assessment to Action, focused on how evaluation can drive genuine learning rather than rote memorisation.
Prof. Pranati Panda of NIEPA discussed standard setting and accountability, while secretary of the Board of Intermediate Krishna Aditya explained how state-level assessment models are being redesigned in Telangana. Cambridge’s Dr Shamim Chowdhury and IB’s Mahesh Balakrishnan contextualised these initiatives within international frameworks, showing how local identity can coexist with global benchmarks.
Governor Varma concluded his speech with a reminder from Mahatma Gandhi: “Let all the winds of the world blow through my house, but let my roof not be blown away.” The quote, he said, embodied the spirit of learning from the world without losing one’s own essence.
