Dr. Prabhakar Pandey
About / Executive Summary
PROFILE
Dr. Prabhakar Pandey specialises in Alternative Education, with university teaching experience since 2015. He is Dean of the School of Sanatan Dharma and Indic Studies and Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Alternative Education and Holistic Development at Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies, Madhya Pradesh. He holds a Ph.D. in Education from Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University, New Delhi, and Shastri (B.A.) and Acharya (M.A.) degrees in Jyotisha (Ganita) from Banaras Hindu University. His work focuses on Indian educational thought, Buddhist Education, peace education, conflict resolution, and holistic and value-based education.
His academic contributions include 22 journal papers, 11 book chapters, one co-authored book, one co-edited volume, and membership of the content writing committees for four NCERT textbooks. He has contributed to more than 60 invited lectures, resource-person engagements and paper presentations. He also participated in seven curriculum and academic committees during 2026.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Dr. Pandey has served as Assistant Professor at Sanchi University since 25 August 2015 and as Head of Department since 2020. He has taught postgraduate courses in Alternative Education since 2019, covering Indian educational thought, Buddhist Education, holistic education, educational philosophy, Indian research methodology and peace education. He also contributes to Ph.D. coursework and research supervision.
Academic Administration. Dean, School of Sanatan Dharma and Indic Studies; Head of Department, Chairperson of the Departmental Research Committee, and Member of the Academic Council (since 2020); INFLIBNET Coordinator and Member Secretary of the Board of Studies (since 2019). His examination responsibilities include question-paper setting, evaluation and viva-voce at M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. levels.
Selected Memberships Outside the University. Member of the Central Board of Studies for B.A. Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh (notified 13 May 2026), and of the State’s expert committee for undergraduate curriculum revision integrating Indian Knowledge Systems. He served as a Subject Expert on the Research Advisory Committee at Central Sanskrit University, Bhopal Campus, on 8 May 2026.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Dr. Pandey received his Ph.D. in 2018 for A Study of the Effectiveness of Peace-Based Strategies in Conflict Resolution among Students. He completed his B.Ed. (2011) and M.Ed. (2012) at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University. In 2015, he worked as a Junior Project Fellow on an ERIC-funded research project at NCERT, New Delhi.
Research Areas. His specialisation is Alternative Education. His research interests include Buddhist Education, early childhood education, peace education and conflict resolution, Indian Knowledge Systems, educational philosophy and Indian Darshana, education in Vedic, Sutra and Upanishadic literature, and holistic and valuebased education.
Research Project. He undertook the Sanchi University-funded minor project “भारतीय ज्ञान परम्परा मेंसमग्र शिक्षा के तत्त्व : एक ” विश्लेषणात्मक अध्ययन during 2022–2023.
Selected Research Papers. Selected publications include “प्राचीन भारतीय शिक्षा का स्वरूप : सूत्र साहित्य के विशेष सन्दर्भ ” में (Sanskrit Vimarsha, Vol. 18, pp. 128–136, 2020); “श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता मेंशिक्षा की अवधारणा का विवेचनात्मक अध्ययन” (Darshanik Traimasik, Vol. 68-1, pp. 187–195, 2022); Historical Development of Alternative Education: Western Perspective (IJFMR, Vol. 6, Issue 2, 2024); “ज्ञान निर्माण प्रक्रिया और शिक्षार्थी-केंद्रित अधिगम : मिलिन्द ” प्रश्न के संदर्भमेंआधुनिक पुनर्व्याख्या (Chetana, Year 3, Issue 9, IIAS, Shimla, 2025); and “समग्र शिक्षा की अवधारणा : एक ” अध्ययन (Paniniya, Vol. XLVI–XLVII, pp. 90–100, 2026).
Selected Books. He co-authored “भारतीय ज्ञान परम्परा : जनजातीय जीवन दृष्टि, व्यवहार और स् मृति का सभ्यतागत विमर्श” with Dr. Mukesh Kumar Mishra (Dattopant Thengadi Shodh Sansthan, Bhopal, 2026; ISBN 978- 81-956084-1-6). He is a co-editor of “नैमिष-वार्ता : राष्ट्रीय शोधार्थी संगम 2025 में ” प्रतिपादित विचार एवं शोध आलेख (Dattopant Thengadi Shodh Sansthan, Bhopal, 2026; ISBN 978-81-956084-3-0).
Book Chapters and Textbook Contributions. His chapters include Oral Traditions and Qualitative Inquiry: Insights from Indian Knowledge Systems (Society and Research: Exploring New Directions, 2025); Advancing Research Methods: Insights from Mimamsa’s Hermeneutic Tradition (The Road to Biswa Guru, 2025); and Buddhist Epistemology and Machine Learning: Towards Compassion-Based EdTech (Redefining Education: Trends in Digital Innovation, 2025). He was a member of the content writing committees for NCERT’s “सूक्तिसौरभम्” (प्रथमपुष्पम्, द्वितीयपुष्पम्and तृतीयपुष्पम्) and “वनस्पति ” वीथिका .
Research Supervision. He supervises doctoral research in the Department of Alternative Education and Holistic Development and contributes to Ph.D. coursework and the review of research progress.
ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENTS
His engagements include lectures on Indian Darshana and Nyaya in Indic Research Methodology at the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad (2023), and teaching contributions to Indic Education programmes at Gujarat University (2022–2024). He has served as a resource person in NCERT workshops on ancient Indian educational thought, economic conceptions in Indian Knowledge Systems and experiential learning. In March 2026, he was a keynote speaker, paper presenter and session chair at Central Sanskrit University, Bhopal Campus.
Conferences and Workshops. He presented papers at the Fourth Dharma-Dhamma Conference (2016), the international conference on Shakta-tantra/Srividya Tradition (2018), and a seminar on Raja Bhoj and town planning (2022). He also served on organising committees for the International Dharma-Dhamma Conference (2023) and the workshop on Buddhist Philosophy and Value-based Education (2024) at Sanchi University.
Honours and Professional Memberships. His distinctions include the BHU Medal and Raj Kishore Shastri Silver Medal (2010), and Vishishtsamman from Central Sanskrit University, Bhopal Campus (2024). He holds life memberships of the Indian Society for Buddhist Studies, Akhil Bharatiya Darshan Parishad and Bhartiya Shikshan Mandal.