A day for play

Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that play is a fundamental right of every child.

As one of the leaders in promoting education in our district and in celebration of International Day of Play on 11 June, we joined forces with The Opentree Foundation (TOF) to deliver Maharashtra’s first district-level consultation on Play-Based Learning. The consultation brought together key stakeholders from the education ecosystem, including the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Zilla Parishad, Ahilyanagar, and Sanskruti Sanvardhan Mandal, Nanded.

Long before this roundtable, teachers in our partner schools had already been transforming their classrooms — building confidence, curiosity and a love for learning. The roundtable recognised Ahilyanagar’s first Play Leaders and Play Champions — the early believers who helped shape this movement. They stand as examples of what is possible when teachers are empowered to reimagine learning.

Discussions also reinforced integrating play into everyday school experiences in line with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which advocates joyful, experiential, and holistic learning. Shraddha Rohit Deshmukh, from Sanskruti Sanvardhan Mandal, shared how play-based learning is already strengthening teacher-student relationships and increasing parental engagement in schools.

In a landmark announcement, Anand Bhandari, IAS, declared that all government schools in Ahilyanagar District would welcome students on the first day of the new academic year with ‘First Day at School, One Hour of Play’. This decision reflects years of collaborative work by TOF and Snehalaya in teacher training, school support, and demonstrating the value of play-based learning. Over the coming years, TOF will partner with the district administration to expand its Play2Learn initiative across all 14 talukas of Ahilyanagar by providing play materials, training teachers, and supporting the integration of play into School Development Plans.

Shweta Chari, Co-founder and CEO of TOF, described the announcement as a significant step toward creating a better future for children across Maharashtra. Satyajeet Sudhir Tambe, Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council added that education should go beyond textbooks to foster creativity, communication, leadership, and life skills, highlighting play-based learning as a key component of student-centred education.

Anand Bhandari, IAS, noted that schools must be places of joy where children feel motivated to learn, and stressed the shared responsibility of administrators, teachers, and parents in creating such environments. Our founder, Dr Girish Kulkarni highlighted how play helps children express themselves, rebuild confidence, and engage more meaningfully with learning while Rashmi Nagori from the Nuvama Group emphasized that play nurtures confidence, critical thinking, decision-making, and social-emotional development.

As Ahilyanagar moves towards becoming Maharashtra's first play-integrated district, we hope these Play Champions inspire hundreds more educators to bring the power of play into every classroom.

We are proud to be bringing a new approach and are excited that children across our district will enjoy play-based learning and we are certain that this will help in their academic progress and future success.