DEVI Sansthan Hosts FLN Leadership Circle with Educators from 18 States

DEVI Sansthan Brings Together Education Changemakers from 18 States for Action-Oriented Discussion at Leadership Circle 5

Lucknow, 14 May, 2026: DEVI Sansthan hosted Leadership Circle 5: A Roadmap for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy at World Unity Convention Centre, Lucknow, bringing together senior government officials, education leaders, CSR partners, school leaders and teachers from 18 states - from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Mizoram to Maharashtra, to accelerate India’s journey towards universal Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.

The two-day national gathering was graced by distinguished chief guests and dignitaries, including Hon’ble Dr. Dinesh Sharma, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Hon’ble Shri Sandeep Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Basic Education, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State for Finance, Government of India. The event also featured addresses by Dr. Joseph Emmanuel, CEO & Secretary, CISCE, and a special video message from Prof. Indrani Bhaduri, CEO & Head, PARAKH/NCERT, Ministry of Education.

Leadership Circle 5 also included live ALfA classroom demonstrations by government school children, who read from newspapers, decoded unfamiliar words and demonstrated place value using concrete materials. These sessions showed how peer learning, random pairing and activity-based instruction can make foundational learning visible, joyful and measurable.

The event featured high-level panels on FLN policy, CSR partnerships, government systems and scale. Key panelists included Ms Angela Zothanpuii, Director Education, Mizoram; Mr Bijesh Kumar Sharma, Deputy Director Education, Delhi; Ms Sreekala KS, ASPD Kerala; Dr Shankar Kumar, SCERT Punjab; Mr Harshit Mishra, KV Sangathan; Mr Parmendra Saklani, SCERT Uttarakhand; and Ms Preeti Munjal, IIMPACT. CSR and development leaders from BSE Ltd, JSW Foundation, United Way Mumbai, RSB Foundation, Samhita-CGF, Development Consortium, GSK, SBI Factors, SRF Foundation, Johnson Matthey India, United Way Delhi, DXC Technology, Bandhan Group, Invest UP, Baker Hughes and L&T also participated.

Speaking at the event, leaders emphasised that FLN is not merely an education issue, but the foundation for confidence, employability, equity and national development. Shri Pankaj Chaudhary praised ALfA after watching children read live on stage, while Dr. Joseph Emmanuel described foundational literacy as the base on which the entire school system rests.

A major highlight of Leadership Circle 5 was the launch of PadhaiPal, India’s first AI-powered Hindi literacy chatbot based on DEVI Sansthan’s ALfA pedagogy. PadhaiPal is a WhatsApp-based tool that helps children learn Hindi reading through speech, picture cues, instant feedback and motivational prompts.

The event also marked the launch of DEVI Sansthan’s ALfA India Impact Report, “FLN: What Works — India,” and a Telugu FLN toolkit. Government representatives shared commitments to expand ALfA, including Jammu & Kashmir’s move towards all-district expansion and Uttarakhand’s three-district pilot.

Leadership Circle 5 concluded with a strong call for governments, CSR partners and educators to work together so that every child can read, write and do basic mathematics with confidence, dignity and speed.