Archive · 3 Sep 2026
Angmo Urges Government to Treat Education Protests as Wake-Up Call
Gitanjali Angmo said the government should treat the current education protests as a warning to improve the system.
She believes the National Education Policy has good ideas, but those ideas must reach schools and classrooms.
She said teachers should be respected, well paid and treated as central to children's development.
Schools should give every child a strong basic education, whether they are public or private.
Exams should test thinking, creativity and problem-solving, not only memorizing facts.
Technology may make exams safer, but it cannot decide what students should really learn.
Angmo also said young people should understand Indian traditions and the meaning of Vande Mataram.
She described patriotism as doing one's work honestly and helping improve the country.
Gitanjali Angmo urged the government to respond to protests by pursuing comprehensive, long-term education and examination reforms.
She said the National Education Policy is strong in principle but requires consistent implementation, better-resourced schools and greater respect and pay for teachers.
Angmo called for examinations to assess understanding, creativity, problem-solving and knowledge application rather than mainly memory and reproduction.
She said technology can prevent paper leaks but cannot determine the broader purpose of education or examinations.
Angmo also advocated renewed engagement with Indian philosophical traditions and said patriotism should involve honest work and contributing to nation-building.
- Who
- Gitanjali Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, discussed the issues in an IANS interview.
- What
- She called for comprehensive reforms to India's education and examination systems and discussed Indian philosophy, patriotism and Vande Mataram.
- When
- The interview was published on Thursday; no specific date was provided.
- Where
- The interview was conducted while Angmo was in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
- Why
- She said protests should be treated as a wake-up call because inadequate reforms could create greater social pressure and a larger movement.
Security-Focused Approach
Broader Educational Reform
What examination reform should prioritize
Security-Focused Approach
The examination reform committee, as Angmo understands it, is focused mainly on end-to-end security, confidentiality and preventing paper leaks through technology.
Broader Educational Reform
Angmo argued that reform must also examine what tests measure, including understanding, creativity, problem-solving and independent thought.
Vande Mataram and religious diversity
Security-Focused Approach
Some people object to Vande Mataram because it refers to Hindu gods and question whether people of other faiths should sing it.
Broader Educational Reform
Angmo said the song represents a cultural and emotional relationship with India and can be understood without religious identity being compromised.
Education and political cycles
Security-Focused Approach
Education reforms may be initiated or changed by successive elected governments as political priorities shift.
Broader Educational Reform
Angmo said education should be treated as a decades-long national project with institutional protection from changing governments.
- Main recommendation
- Implement comprehensive, long-term reforms in education and examinations.
- National Education Policy
- Angmo described the policy as a good document but said implementation is the central challenge.
- Teacher reform
- She called for higher social status and better remuneration for teachers.
- Basic education
- She said every child should receive strong and equal basic education until at least the tenth grade.
- Examination goals
- She said exams should assess understanding, creativity, application, problem-solving and independent thinking.
- Role of technology
- Technology can improve examination security and help prevent paper leaks, but cannot resolve questions about educational purpose.
- Institutional continuity
- Angmo proposed an educational commission protected from changing political cycles to oversee reforms lasting decades.