A few years ago, I visited a rural school and watched a group of children crowd around a computer. For many of them, it was the first time they had touched one. There was excitement, nervousness and plenty of questions. What stayed with me, however, was not the machine. It was the teacher beside them, patiently explaining the same thing in different ways until it made sense.
That moment has stayed with me because it captures something we can sometimes overlook when we talk about improving education. Access matters, but access by itself does not create learning. Technology can make knowledge available at an unprecedented scale. But it is a teacher who helps a child understand what to do with it, why it matters and how it connects to the world around them.
This is particularly important in rural communities, where education is increasingly expected to go beyond foundational literacy and numeracy. Children also need communication skills, digital confidence, problem-solving abilities and an understanding of the opportunities technology can create.
The teacher’s role is changing
The classroom today is no longer defined only by the textbook and blackboard. Information is available everywhere, and students are growing up surrounded by technology. Teachers are therefore being asked to introduce new tools, build confidence, encourage curiosity and prepare young people for a rapidly changing world of work.
Artificial intelligence has accelerated this change. A student can now ask a machine a question and receive an answer within seconds. But knowing how to ask the right question, assess the answer, understand its context and use the information responsibly remains a human skill. I do not believe technology makes teachers less important. It makes the teacher’s judgment, context and ability to inspire curiosity even more important.
{{/usCountry}}Artificial intelligence has accelerated this change. A student can now ask a machine a question and receive an answer within seconds. But knowing how to ask the right question, assess the answer, understand its context and use the information responsibly remains a human skill. I do not believe technology makes teachers less important. It makes the teacher’s judgment, context and ability to inspire curiosity even more important.
{{/usCountry}}Our experience through Cosmo Foundation has reinforced this belief. But our experience has also taught us that the impact of technology depends greatly on the people who use it. A computer laboratory is useful only when a teacher knows how to make it useful. That is why our digital skill-building work focuses not simply on access to computers, but on building the capability of educators and facilitators to use technology meaningfully. The curriculum has evolved from basic computer literacy to practical digital applications, including Excel, digital payments and AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Students are also introduced to digital art and graphics, while cyber safety remains an important part of the learning process, ensuring it is useful in everyday life.
For a rural student, digital literacy can mean much more than knowing how to operate a computer. It can mean searching for information, communicating through email, navigating digital maps, accessing online learning, filling out forms, exploring government schemes or preparing for competitive examinations. Teachers can become the trusted bridge between the village and a digital world that can otherwise seem unfamiliar.
The same principle applies to foundational learning. A child who struggles with reading or basic numeracy will find it difficult to benefit from more advanced opportunities later. Through activity-based approaches and community educators or Balmitras, our foundational literacy and numeracy programme focuses on strengthening these basics while also building communication, confidence and life skills.
The power of a teacher from the community
There is another dimension particularly relevant to rural education: who gets to become a teacher?
Some of the most effective educators can be people who come from the same communities they serve. They understand the language spoken at home and can make new ideas and opportunities feel less distant.
This creates a powerful cycle. A young person learns, develops new skills, gains confidence and eventually helps someone else learn. Education then becomes more than a service delivered to a community; it becomes a capability that grows within the community. That is the thinking behind our emphasis on local leadership and community-based education. Sustainable change is more likely when communities are participants in the process rather than simply recipients of it.
Digital platforms can support this process. Cosmo DigiPathshala, for example, enables teachers to share lesson plans, classroom ideas, resources and innovations through WhatsApp, creating a practical network for peer learning. Teachers, therefore, are not only recipients of training; they can also become creators and sharers of knowledge.
Technology can travel. Trust cannot.
A digital lesson can reach students in another village, while a digital platform can connect teachers who may otherwise never meet. But technology has a limitation that is easy to forget: it can travel far, but it cannot understand a child on its own.
But a teacher can recognise when a student is struggling despite getting the right answer. A teacher can encourage the child who is afraid to speak and connect a lesson to a child’s lived experience. In a rural community, they serve as the bridge between a family and the opportunities available. That role extends beyond the classroom. Teachers can help young people develop communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills, while introducing them to higher education, vocational pathways and competitive examinations.
As we mark Teacher’s Day, I find myself thinking less about the tools we put into classrooms and more about the people who make those tools meaningful. The future of education will certainly involve more technology, digital learning and AI. Hence, giving teachers the confidence and skills to use technology well, while creating more opportunities for communities can help develop educators of their own. For me, that is the real promise of community-led education, where a village receives education and develops the confidence and capability to create its own educators over time. Because while technology may change how we learn, the human being who helps us understand why we learn may remain the most important part of the classroom.
Ms. Yamini Kumar Jaipuria
Managing Trustee, Cosmo Foundation | Whole-time Director (Corporate Strategy, ESG and CSR), Cosmo First
Note to readers: This article is part of HT's paid consumer connect initiative and is independently created by the brand. HT assumes no editorial responsibility for the content, including its accuracy, completeness, or any errors or omissions. Readers are advised to verify all information independently.
Want to get your story featured as above? click here!