Education ministry launches IKS Panchatantra project to teach critical thinking

Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi launched the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) Panchatantra Pariyojana in New Delhi on Thursday, October 29, 2026. He announced it while inaugurating a new academic building of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA). The project draws on the Panchatantra, the old Indian collection of animal fables, to build life skills such as leadership, critical thinking, moral values and responsible citizenship among young learners.

The Panchatantra is one of the best-known works of Indian literature. It is a Sanskrit collection of fables in which animals speak and act, and each tale carries a lesson about judgement, friendship, trust and the use of intelligence in difficult situations. Tradition attributes the text to a teacher named Vishnu Sharma, who is said to have composed it to educate young princes in practical wisdom. The word "pancha" means five, and the work is arranged in five books. Over many centuries the stories travelled far beyond India and were retold in many languages.

What makes the new project notable is the way it frames the fables. They are presented not only as moral stories for children but as tools for teaching skills that modern schools also value: weighing choices, thinking about the consequences of an action, and working with others. Education researchers who have studied the Panchatantra have pointed out that many of its tales place characters in a dilemma, which gives a teacher a ready way to ask students what they would do and why. The ministry's description of the project, which lists leadership and critical thinking alongside moral values, follows that line.

The launch also fits the government's wider push to bring Indian Knowledge Systems into classrooms under NEP 2020. The Ministry of Education runs an IKS Division that funds research centres, supports teacher training and holds workshops on traditional Indian learning. At the same event, Joshi stressed a shift from rote learning to conceptual understanding, which NEP 2020 calls for, and said the policy now needs focused execution and effective implementation. Stories that ask a child to reason through a problem sit naturally with that goal.

The IKS push in education has also drawn debate. Some education scholars have argued that IKS material needs critical engagement with history so that it does not become one-sided. How the Panchatantra project is designed, and whether teachers are encouraged to discuss the fables openly rather than present them as fixed lessons, will shape how it is received.

Short-term: The launch puts the Panchatantra on the education ministry's agenda. Schools, teachers and parents will be watching for the details that have not yet been published, such as which classes the project covers, what teaching material will be used and whether it will be part of the regular timetable or an activity outside it.

Long-term: If the project is carried into schools, the Panchatantra could become a regular part of how values and reasoning are taught, linking an ancient text to the skills-based approach of NEP 2020. NIEPA's expanded building and its role in tracking NEP implementation may also help the ministry see how such programmes work across different states.

Who is affected: School students, especially younger learners; teachers who may use the fables in class; state education departments that carry out NEP 2020; and scholars and institutions working on Indian Knowledge Systems.

Questions and Answers