Member
Former Director, NCERT
Prof. A.K. Sharma is a distinguished educationist and former Director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), where he served in various academic and administrative capacities from 1974 to June 1999. With a career spanning decades in academia and educational policy, he has made enduring contributions to science education, teacher education, curriculum design, and distance learning.
Prof. Sharma began his academic journey at Panjab University, Chandigarh, where he served for thirteen years as Lecturer and Reader in the Department of Chemistry. During this period, he led major curriculum development initiatives in chemistry, spanning school to university-level education, and authored several academic publications in the field.
At NCERT, Prof. Sharma played a key role in advancing national initiatives in science education and distance learning. He was instrumental in planning and implementing teacher development programmes in collaboration with District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), with a special focus on distance education modalities. His leadership extended to national curriculum development, including his role as Chairman of Curriculum Committees for the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).
Prof. Sharma has served as an educational consultant to several prestigious national and international organisations, including UNESCO, the International Association of Educational Evaluation (IAEE), the World Bank, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), and Educational Consultants India Ltd. (EdCIL). He was closely involved in the publication of “Vocational Education and Training – Initiative through Open and Distance Learning”, a pioneering work that drew the attention of the Planning Commission, Government of India.
He was a member of the Task Force for the National Policy on Education, 1986, and its Programme of Action, as well as a member of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE). Prof. Sharma’s contributions continue to inform policy and practice in science and teacher education across the country.
