Macmillan Education India, Microsoft extend AI literacy push for schools
Noida - Macmillan Education India has renewed its partnership with Microsoft to strengthen AI literacy and digital skills for teachers and secondary students across the country. First signed in 2024, the collaboration continues into 2025 and stays in line with India's National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
So far, the initiative has reached 10,000+ schools and engaged 15,000+ educators through webinars and online courses on AI basics and 21st-century learning design. The focus is practical: help teachers bring AI into everyday instruction and improve learning outcomes.
Macmillan, with Microsoft's support, has launched AI textbooks for Classes 9 and 10 mapped to CBSE's Skill Course (Code 417). Students are introduced to AI fundamentals, ethics and real-world applications, while Microsoft-certified courses aligned to the syllabus aim to improve employability. Content is paired with AI tools that adapt to learner needs.
Rajesh Pasari, Managing Director at Macmillan Education India, said the programme is about helping teachers understand and use AI effectively. He added that AI literacy is now essential for preparing students for future careers.
The rollout is nationwide. Custom teacher training is being conducted in schools that have adopted Macmillan's coding programme, Emerging Tech Stars, giving educators access to Microsoft's AI resources along with Macmillan's curated content.
The broader goal is a complete AI education ecosystem: build teacher capacity, provide curriculum-aligned materials, and connect classrooms to industry-backed digital resources. This supports India's push to ready students for an AI-enabled economy.
What this means for school leaders and teachers
- Use the webinars and micro-courses to plan your PD calendar and set clear AI learning outcomes for staff.
- Map classroom activities to CBSE AI (Code 417) so AI concepts reinforce subject content, not sit apart from it.
- Adopt the Class 9-10 AI textbooks as a baseline, then extend with local projects that reflect your community and student interests.
- Establish practical guardrails: data privacy norms, tool selection criteria, and clear guidelines on acceptable AI use for students.
- Collect quick evidence of impact-short student reflections, sample prompts, rubric-based assessment-so you can iterate fast.
Getting started
- Enroll staff in the ongoing webinars and short courses; set up peer circles so teachers test AI strategies and share what works.
- Review NEP 2020 references to technology integration and ensure your school plan reflects those priorities. Read NEP 2020
- Align your ICT and library plans with CBSE's AI Skill Course (Code 417) so resources and timetable slots are in place. CBSE Skill Education
- Pilot AI-integrated units in two grades, gather feedback from students and teachers, and scale only after basic workflows feel stable.
Where to find additional support
If you want a curated view of practical AI upskilling options for educators, explore current picks here: AI courses by job role. Short, focused modules help teams build confidence without overhauling the timetable.
The opportunity is clear: equip teachers first, align content to the CBSE framework, and give students structured practice with safe, purposeful AI use. Do that, and AI becomes a steady part of teaching and learning-not a one-off experiment.
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