A Sanskrit school teacher from Khareda village in Rajasthan's Alwar district has built a nationwide reputation as the country's "App Guru." Imran Khan has created more than 100 educational apps so far, and together they have reached close to 3 crore users. For a teacher at a government school, the achievement stands out because he built all of it himself, without any formal technical training.
It began with the challenge of teaching 180 children alone
Imran Khan started his career in 1999 as a mathematics teacher in the Sanskrit department. Back then, he was responsible for teaching around 180 children alone in a single classroom, a challenge in itself. In 2009, when he was the only Sanskrit teacher at his village school, he faced the same question every day: how to teach so many children effectively at once. That struggle pushed him to think about bringing mobile phones and computers into the classroom. He first built a website so children could study on a computer, and only after that experience did he move on to building apps, marking the true start of his journey.
A push from the district collector changed his direction
Ashutosh Pednekar, who was then the Collector of Alwar, recognised the growing importance of apps and encouraged Imran Khan to work in that direction. At the time, Android phones were still a new trend, and very few people in rural areas owned smartphones. Undeterred, Imran Khan taught himself app development using Google and whatever resources he could find online. In 2012, he built his first app, based on a science subject. From that point on, app-making became a continuous pursuit and eventually the mission of his life.
When Prime Minister Modi mentioned him in London
In 2015, Imran Khan built 50 apps and dedicated them to the Ministry of Human Resource Development. That same year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to him during an event in London, saying, "My India lives in Imran of Alwar." For a teacher at an ordinary government school, hearing his work praised by the Prime Minister was a major moment, and it only strengthened his resolve to keep going.
112 apps, 3 crore users and reach beyond India
Working continuously, Imran Khan has now built around 112 apps, of which close to 100 are available on the Google Play Store, all of them offered free of cost so that children from financially weaker families can also benefit. Together, these apps have reached close to 3 crore users. Besides building apps for the Government of India, Imran Khan is also developing apps for Mauritius and the Philippines, taking his work well beyond India's borders.
Honoured at the national level multiple times
Imran Khan has received numerous honours and citations at both the central and state levels for his work. His awards include the President's Teacher Award, the National Teacher Award, the National ICT Award, the Jamnalal Bajaj Award and the Bhamashah Samman Award. Despite this long list of recognitions, his appetite for learning has not slowed down, and he keeps upgrading himself to keep pace with changing technology.
Now spending 13 to 14 hours a day on AI and new technology
Imran Khan says technology keeps changing, and he keeps upgrading himself at the same pace. He spends around 13 to 14 hours every day learning new developments in artificial intelligence and app development, and applying them in real life. He believes artificial intelligence could prove to be a game changer for education going forward. According to him, if students use artificial intelligence sensibly, it can only widen their opportunities to learn. A journey that began in a small village school has now reached crores of users in India and abroad, and by his own account, this is a pursuit that shows no sign of slowing down.
