Most online schools encounter a choice early on, and most choose one path. The technology that enables the school's operation—including live lessons, educational materials, progress tracking, and a parent portal—can be purchased from vendors who created it for the entire market. These systems are unified under a single brand and provided to parents throughout the academic period. This is a sensible commercial decision, which is why most online schools effectively use similar software.
CambriLearn chose a different path that took two decades. Instead of assembling its school from ready-made components, the company independently developed the underlying technology. This process was slower and more costly, but it yielded rewards only in the long term. On August 3rd, this technology was named CambriOS—the structure on which the school operates. It integrates live teaching, curriculum trajectories, community, and a parent interface into four educational experiences, all fully supported by the school's own property.
Owning the technology changes the school's capabilities. A school that rents standard software inherits the architecture, priorities, and release schedule of another company, and can offer a child only what the software allows in the current quarter. A school that has created its own system can change the pace, route, level of support, and what the parent sees when a specific child needs it, without waiting for an external development plan.
Another non-obvious advantage of owning the technology is the ability to control its development. In education, there is strong pressure to implement artificial intelligence in all processes so that the software can draw conclusions about a child based on several data points and issue a confident verdict. CambriLearn also incorporates intelligence into its technology, but does so gradually and within the same environment already used by teachers and academic teams—to identify important issues earlier and aid in decision-making, rather than making decisions autonomously. The judgment remains with the people who know the student. A school that controls its own technology can maintain this position; one that assembles its stack from vendor offerings often cannot.
All of this exists to serve a rather inconspicuous goal: the child who does not fit the standard mold. One child may excel in mathematics but lag in English; another may master a more complex curriculum but struggle with a rigid daily routine. The single word in the report given to such a child—distracted, below average, not trying hard enough—is often accurate, but always too little, and a school limited by rented software can rarely do more than repeat the schedule and demand more effort. A school that has developed its own technology can change what is offered to the child.
CambriLearn does not start from scratch. It has educated over 80,000 students in more than 100 countries. The school is accredited by Cognia and Pearson Edexcel, registered with SACAI and IEB, and approved by the NCAA. Of its university-bound graduates, 98 out of 100 are accepted. Its learning trajectories cover the International British Curriculum and Pearson Edexcel, as well as CAPS, KABV, IEB, and the American curriculum.
The technology attracts attention from tech publications, but this was never the main goal. Two decades of development have led to the creation of a school capable of meeting the needs of the child, not the label, which ultimately means creating a school focused on the child's mindset.
Madrasas in the state of Uttar Pradesh will no longer be able to issue Kamil and Fazil diplomas. The UP government plans to amend existing legislation to implement this decision. Previously, the Kamil diploma obtained from a UP madrasa was equivalent to a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, and the Fazil diploma was equivalent to a Master of Arts (MA) degree.
The government, under Yogi Adityanath, approved a draft amendment to the Madrasa Council Act of 2004 during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. These amendments will subsequently be presented to the legislative assembly. This decision was made by the UP government in accordance with a Supreme Court order.
According to the government statement, the Kamil and Fazil diplomas are not recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India. Consequently, the recognition of these degrees will be revoked. The government asserts that this step is necessary to align higher education with national standards and regulations, ensuring uniformity and transparency in the madrasa higher education system after the old law is amended.
The Uttar Pradesh government intends to go further and is preparing to annul previously issued higher diplomas based on the Supreme Court's directive. This could create serious difficulties for thousands and millions of students in the region, as any government decision could render their diploma useless, preventing them from continuing their studies or seeking employment.
'Kamil' is a three-year course covering Arabic, Persian, and Islamic sciences. The 'Kamil' course issued by the UP Madrasa Board was previously considered equivalent to a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. 'Fazil' was a two-year advanced course taken after completing 'Kamil'. The Fazil diploma obtained from the state madrasa board was equivalent to a master's degree.
The Uttar Pradesh government made this decision following the Supreme Court's order dated November 5, 2024. This ruling was delivered while hearing the case of 'Anjum Qadri versus Union of India'.
The case 'Anjum Qadri versus Union of India' concerned the constitutional legitimacy of the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Education Act of 2004. The situation arose after the Allahabad High Court declared the entire act unconstitutional on March 22, 2024. The court ruled that the act contradicted the secular nature of the Constitution, as well as Articles 14 and 21A. An appeal against this decision was filed in the Supreme Court, including Anjum Qadri and other petitioners.
On November 5, 2024, the Supreme Court made a crucial decision, overturning the Allahabad High Court's ruling that declared the Madrasa Act unconstitutional. In its judgment, the apex court upheld the validity of the Madrasa Act. This decision was rendered by a bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Mishra.
The court held that the act regulates education in madrasas, teacher qualifications, examinations, and administrative matters. The court noted that the mere fact of teaching religious disciplines in a madrasa does not render the Madrasa Act unconstitutional.
In the Uttar Pradesh province, in the district of Kannauj, a video is gaining popularity that casts doubt on the quality of public school education. The video captures the head of a government school calmly sleeping in the classroom while performing his duties. Meanwhile, the students in the classroom are busy using mobile phones.
According to available information, the incident took place in a composite village school in Shikauri village, which is part of the Umrda block of Kannauj district. Jitendra Mishra is the head of teachers at this position. It is reported that he arrived in the classroom to teach but soon felt sleepy and lay down to rest right in the classroom, after which he fell into a deep sleep.
Taking advantage of the teacher falling asleep, the students began using mobile phones in the classroom. The viral video also shows children looking at their phones while the teacher sleeps nearby. It is also claimed that the phones visible in the children's hands belong to the teacher. After the video appeared on social media, it began to spread rapidly. People have expressed various opinions about this video, as well as raising questions regarding education and discipline in public schools.
When attempting to get comments from the Basic Education Officer (BSA), no information was obtained due to the weekend. Thus, it remains unclear whether any investigation has begun or if any measures have been taken by the department in connection with this viral video.
When contacted regarding his version of events, Head of Teachers Jitendra Mishra stated his inability to appear before the camera. During the phone conversation, he only mentioned some departmental circumstances that make him fearful. He did not provide detailed comments regarding the viral video. Currently, this video remains a topic of discussion on social media, and an official reaction and further action from the department are awaited.
Creating social media profiles during pre-adolescence may be correlated with lower academic achievement in subsequent years. An investigation involving over five thousand Italian students identified this correlation, particularly in mathematics and Italian subjects.
According to the research published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, this finding remained even after analysts took into account variables such as students' prior performance, family composition, and parents' educational level.
In practice, students who chose to postpone starting social media use showed an educational advantage equivalent to about six months of learning when compared to those who created their accounts between the ages of 11 and 12.
To reach this conclusion, scientists examined data from 5,227 students from 28 educational institutions located in northern Italy. This survey collected information on social media engagement between 2023 and 2024 and cross-referenced this data with results obtained in standardized tests for Italian, mathematics, and English.
The research revealed four crucial points: below-expected performance in mathematics and Italian among users who joined social media earlier; no significant disparities in English grades; a connection between frequent phone checking and lower school results; and less parental supervision among students who opened accounts early.
It is important to note that the study does not establish that social media is the direct cause of deteriorating academic performance. However, the researchers controlled for various factors that could influence the results, such as students' performance history and inherent family characteristics.
Marco Gui, a researcher at the University of Milano-Bicocca and the study's lead author, commented that there are already consistent pieces of evidence that premature use of these platforms requires attention. He stated: 'I think we now know there is a problem and that it is complex, related to how these platforms are built.'
Gui speculated that one of the possible mechanisms involved is the constant state of attention induced by the applications. He detailed: 'We speculate that one of the mechanisms is this continuous state of alert that social media used on smartphones exerts on the lives of minors.'
The authors emphasize that the nature of the research is observational, meaning it does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship. Nevertheless, the correlation between early social media use and lower performance in mathematics and Italian remained stable throughout the analysis.
Additionally, the study found that the advantage of students who delayed opening accounts is equivalent to approximately half the benefit typically associated with intensive school reinforcement programs, and this comparison was used only to quantify the difference found.
The researchers argue that the findings reinforce the urgency of providing guidance to families and educational institutions regarding social media use in the pre-adolescent phase. Concurrently, they suggest that making these platforms less dependent on resources that encourage incessant access can help mitigate this impact.
Furthermore, the court emphasized that Article 30 of the Constitution guarantees religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. However, the state has the right to set rules to ensure quality and necessary secular education in such institutions.
The Supreme Court indicated that the Allahabad High Court erred in striking down the entire act; instead, if certain provisions are unconstitutional or violate rules, only those provisions should be separated, not the entire act abolished.
However, within the scope of this same decision, the Supreme Court made an important observation regarding the Kamil and Fazil diplomas issued by madrasas. The court ruled that the issuance of such higher diplomas by madrasas does not comply with constitutional norms. The court stated that the regulation of higher education standards falls under the jurisdiction of the central government under the UGC Act, making this part of the Madrasa Act unconstitutional.
The Uttar Pradesh government is now using this Supreme Court ruling as the basis for banning the issuance of 'Kamil' and 'Fazil' higher diplomas by madrasas. Subsequently, students who planned to obtain a BA degree after completing 12th grade in a madrasa will have to enroll in universities where they will undergo the admission process alongside other students.
The Madrasa Act was enacted in Uttar Pradesh in 2004 to streamline the madrasa education system. It covers subjects such as Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Islamic sciences, traditional medicine, and philosophy. As of November 2025, 25,000 madrasas operate in UP, approximately 16,000 of which are recognized by the UP Madrasa Board, and another eight thousand five hundred madrasas have not received such recognition. The Madrasa Board conducts annual examinations for the Munshi and Maulli levels (10th grade), as well as Alim (12th grade), Kamil (BA), and Fazil (MA). The goal of the Madrasa Act is to integrate religious education with general education subjects so that students are equipped with both Islamic and modern knowledge.
