One-million-voice initiative seeks views of young people, parents and teachers before developing a framework to assess future readiness
Nagaland has joined a national campaign seeking to understand whether the education system is preparing young people for life beyond the classroom, with the Department of School Education inviting students, parents, teachers and communities across the state to share their views.campaign
Advisor for School Education, Dr Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, announced the state’s participation in the ‘1 Million Voices on Future Readiness’ campaign at a press conference in Kohima on Thursday.
The national initiative aims to gather 10 lakh (one million) responses from across India by December 31, 2026. It seeks to hear from young people aged 12 to 25, alongside parents, teachers, employers, government representatives and community members, in their preferred languages.
The exercise will begin by asking participants four questions: what future they want, whether they have the opportunity to choose it, what they need to achieve it, and who or what helps or prevents them from getting there.
Rather than beginning with a predefined assessment framework, the campaign intends to gather these perspectives first and use them to inform how future readiness should be understood and assessed.
The responses will be examined through five dimensions: agency, or the ability to make informed choices and shape one’s future; awareness of opportunities and the world beyond textbooks; connectedness to family, school and community; wellbeing, including feeling safe to learn and grow; and mastery, referring to the ability to keep learning and adapt to change.
Explaining the relevance of the initiative to Nagaland, Yhome said the education system needed to respond to the different circumstances in which students learn, including differences in geography, language, access to resources and learning opportunities.
He called on schools, colleges, communities and partner organisations to help bring participation from every district, particularly remote and rural areas. He said teachers, parents, community leaders and institutions shared responsibility for creating environments in which children felt supported, confident and prepared for life.
The campaign is aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, particularly its emphasis on holistic development, competency-based learning and life skills. Its findings may contribute to how these competencies are understood and assessed, including through the Holistic Progress Card and a proposed national Future Readiness Index.
Early findings are expected to be shared with educators and policymakers at InvokED 6.0 in Bengaluru on February 26 and 27, 2027.
The campaign is being conducted under Shikshagraha, a people-powered movement for education equity catalysed by ShikshaLokam and Mantra4Change, together with government, civil society and community partners. In Nagaland, Elevate Foundation, Shikshagraha’s Momentum Partner in the state, is bringing the initiative forward in collaboration with the Department of School Education.
Young people, parents, teachers and members of the public can participate through Mitra, an AI companion that facilitates online conversations, or through a Google Form. Participation is open in preferred languages through the campaign portal, tumbolo.shikshagraha.org.
