Dr. Janaki Rajan

Dr. Janaki Rajan has been a distinguished professor of education at the Faculty of Education, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and an E. Desmond Lee Scholar for Global Awareness at Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. With a career spanning several decades, Dr. Rajan has made significant contributions to education policy and practice in India.

From 2000-2006, Dr. Rajan served as the Director of SCERT, Delhi, and from 1994-2000, she was a Reader at Central University of Education, Delhi University. She has also worked as a Research Associate at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, from 1992-94. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Rajan taught at primary and secondary schools and headed a teacher education institute for Muslim Minorities in Hyderabad.

Dr. Rajan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a Master’s in Education, English Literature, and Psychology. Her doctoral thesis was primarily based on the development of the concepts of space and time amongst primary school children using the Piagetian framework. Her research interest lays in curriculum and pedagogic studies, gender studies, human rights, community engagement for universal elementary education, and teacher education.

Dr. Rajan is an Ashoka Fellow Innovator for the Public and has several publications to her credit. She is also associated with numerous professional and non-government organizations, highlighting her continued commitment to education and social change in India, her contributions to the field of education are truly commendable and reflect her deep understanding of the complex issues that education faces in India today.