Amar Nath Shukla

Indian social innovator revolutionizing rural education through low-cost technology

Amar Nath Shukla is a visionary educator from India who has transformed rural education through affordable technological solutions. Born in Varanasi in 1985, he founded EkaShiksha in 2017, a nonprofit that develops solar-powered learning tablets costing just $25. These devices, preloaded with multilingual content, have been distributed to over 500,000 children in underserved regions since 2020. His work earned him the British Council Global Education Award in 2022.

Shukla's groundbreaking EduNet system (patented in 2021) uses offline peer-to-peer networks to share educational resources in areas with no internet connectivity. This innovation has enabled schools in 15 Indian states to access up-to-date curricula and teacher training materials. His documentary series on 'Education Without Borders' has trained 10,000+ teachers in alternative pedagogies.

In 2023, he launched SahajLabs, a R&D center producing low-cost lab equipment for science education. Their Science-in-a-Box kits have reached 2,000 rural schools, enabling hands-on experiments for students who previously only had theoretical lessons. Shukla's collaboration with UNICEF in 2024 expanded his programs to 10 African countries through a $5M grant. His recent book 《Building Bridges, Not Walls: Education for All》 details his philosophy of inclusive learning.