Experience Change
Proven FLN solutions firsthand. Learn from states & districts that have accelerated learning.
FLN: The Road Ahead
Policy is in Place. Now Pedagogy.
With insights from the last Leadership Circle
VenueWorld Unity Convention Centre, CMS LDA
Date6-7 August 2026, Lucknow
Leadership Circle
Participation till Date
Leadership Circle Events have collectively brought together leaders from across sectors - government, NGOS & CSR - in more than 25 States & UTS - including 21 States & UTS at the 5th Leadership Circle.
Several states have returned numerous times, as they progress in implementing ALFA in their contexts.
Why Attend?
Leadership Circle 6
Be Inspired
Network with like-minded policymakers and educationists from across the country.
Learn about the Latest
What's working in FLN: around the country and across the world.
Resolve
Get armed with practical ideas and resolve to take the next steps in your context.
Leadership Circle 6
Tentative Schedule
| Time | 6 AUGUST | Day 1 | 7 AUGUST | Day 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 8-9AM | Breakfast & Registrations | |
| 9-9.30AM | Lighting of the Lamp Inaugural Address by Chief Guest | Student Performance Keynote Address |
| 9.30-10 AM | Launch of White Paper A New Playbook for States/UTs | Launch of Accelerating Learning for All (Bloomsbury) 2nd Edition |
| 10-11 AM | Panel 1 From Policy to Classroom Practice: Classroom transformation & quality education | Panel 4 Teachers as Pedagogical Leaders Driving learning transformation within system |
| 11 AM-12 PM | ALfA FLN in Action Live Class Demos & Government Teacher Presentations | ALfA FLN in Action Live Class Demos & Government Teacher Presentations |
| 12 PM-1 PM | Panel 2 Pedagogy as the Real Reform: Why teaching methods matter more than just access | Panel 5 Assessment, Evidence and Accountability: How to measure real learning |
| 1-2 PM | Lunch | |
| 2-3 PM | Panel 3 FLN Beyond Targets: Making Literacy Top Priority not a Sideshow | Panel 6 Investing in Learning Futures CSR, tech & long-term sustainability |
| 3-4 PM | ALfA Hands-on Training Fun & Practical Literacy Activities | ALfA Hands-on Training Fun & Practical Numeracy Activities |
| 4-4.30 PM | Sammaan Ceremony: Honouring Leaders | |
| 4.30 Onwards | Visits to Displays: Networking & Dinner for Resident Participants | |
8 August, Day 3 (Optional)
Ayodhya Trip Visit Ram Mandir
Catering Notes
- Morning tea will be served in the hall at 11 am.
- Lunch is provided for all participants.
- Breakfast and dinner is for guests staying on campus. It will be served in the CISV Dining Hall.
Leadership Circle 5
Eminent Guests
Hon'ble Shri Pankaj Chaudhary
Minister of State for Finance
The real strength of any country lies in educated and capable citizens... Foundational literacy and numeracy do not only change a child's beginning; they change the child's whole future.
Hon'ble Dr. Dinesh Sharma
Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)
A teacher is one who remains a lifelong student and always keeps the hunger to learn... Technology, new pedagogy, innovation, and improvement in the teaching-learning process are the need of the hour.
Hon'ble Shri Sandeep Singh
Minister of State for Basic Education, UP
We need efforts that take foundational literacy not only back to the pre-pandemic level, but far above it... A child should love to come to school. If not, something is wrong with the system, not the child.
Shri Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma
Additional Chief Secretary, UP
Uttar Pradesh has not reached the end of the road, but it is on the right road... New techniques should be tested through credible assessment; if they sustainably improve competency levels, we should be open to using them.
Professor Indrani Bhaduri
CEO & Head, PARAKH / NCERT, MoE
Incremental change in pedagogy will not suffice - disruptive pedagogical approaches are needed. Contextualization, play- based and peer interaction are the way forward. This is helping UP's outcomes trend positively.
Special Guests
Dr Joseph Emmanuel
Chief Executive & Secretary, CISCE
- Education remains the central pathway to a developed India, but current learning data shows the urgent need to strengthen FLN.
- Foundational gaps create cumulative barriers throughout schooling.
- Joyful, experiential, activity-based learning can move classrooms away from rote learning and connect learning with life.
- DEVI Sansthan’s work offers a scalable route for strengthening FLN across formal school systems.
Dr Arun Kumar
Deputy Director, Government Institute of Advanced Studies in Education, Bikaner
- Sustainable change in FLN needs deeper integration into teacher education, not only short-term in-service training.
- Pedagogies like ALfA should become part of B.Ed., D.El.Ed., and teacher-preparation curricula so future teachers learn them before entering classrooms.
- DIETs and teacher-training institutions can become multiplication points, creating a strong cascade of trained educators across districts.
Launch Events
PadhaiPal India's first Al-powered Literacy Chatbot
- Children speak words aloud; the bot evaluates pronunciation using speech-to-text, corrects mistakes, and uses picture hints when a child struggles
- Gamified with motivational stickers and feedback
- Comes with a teacher dashboard showing each student's letter-level accuracy
- During the live demo, 180+ delegates scanned the QR code and started using it in real time — the system briefly overloaded
- Seeking CSR support to scale nationally
ALFA Impact Report: FLN - What Works
- Comprehensive data from multiple states where ALfA has been implemented: UP, HP, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
- Data confirmed by PARAKH and collected transparently by government teams — not DEVI Sansthan alone.
- Randomised Control Trial Design gives strong evidence of impact.
On Stage
Live Classroom
Teachers and students joined the conference from two government schools to demonstrate the ALfA process live.
- A Class 2 student read full paragraphs from today's newspaper — live, on stage
- Audience was invited on stage to verify the children were genuinely reading, not memorizing
- Children built 4-digit numbers (e.g. 2315, 3537) using ice cream sticks, demonstrating place value
- When Shri Pankaj Chaudhary (Hon. Finance Minister) arrived and was invited to give a number — he said 2705 — children built it correctly in under a minute.
Master Trainers led the audience in some fun, practical activities
ALfA Hands-on Training
ALfA Bengali Hands-On Session
Two Hindi-speaking volunteers with zero Bengali knowledge learned to read Bengali words within minutes using the ALfA known-to-unknown approach. The entire auditorium then read Bengali words together.
1-3-7 Activity
Three teachers volunteered to be the numbers ‘1’, ‘3’ and ‘7’. They arranged and rearranged themselves on stage to make 3-digit numbers like 137, 317 etc. This activity helps children understand place value and number sense.
Clap & Snap Activity
The whole audience was thoroughly engaged with the demonstration of how ALfA teaches place value (units, tens, hundreds, thousands) through kinesthetic movement. Delegates from across the country participated, with senior state officials joining on stage.