Fostering Grassroots Transformation: Shikshagraha and Teach For India Partner to Strengthen Public Education
Bridging Classrooms and Communities: A Strategic Alliance to Empower Youth Leaders and Scale Micro-Improvements Across 1 Million Government Schools
In a major push toward systemic reform within India’s public education sector, Shikshagraha—a citizen-led movement aiming to transform one million government schools—has welcomed Teach For India into its network as a strategic Momentum Partner. The alliance merges Teach For India’s 17-year track record in teacher leadership development with Shikshagraha’s expansive ecosystem of community-driven action.
The collaboration comes at a critical juncture for India's education ecosystem. While public spending on education across central and state governments hovered around 4.1% of GDP in 2022–23, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisions scaling public investment to 6% of GDP. Meeting these national targets requires not only fiscal expansion, but also robust, scalable models of grassroots leadership and community engagement.
Grassroots Impact at Scale
Shikshagraha’s decentralized model relies on mobilizing local communities, civil society organizations, and school leaders to execute targeted, low-cost improvements directly within public schools.
Key Strengths and Institutional Synergy
This partnership bridges classroom-level pedagogy with broad-based community mobilization:
| Dimension | Teach For India | Shikshagraha |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Classroom leadership, teaching excellence, and fellowship programs. | Ecosystem building, systemic scaling, and community ownership. |
| Track Record | 5,800+ alumni since 2008; 80%+ remain active in education and social impact. | Mobilized 3.9 lakh+ leaders across 2.1 lakh government schools. |
| Core Delivery Model | 2-year full-time fellowship placing young professionals in low-income schools. | Collective action networks operating across 16 states with 40+ civil society organizations. |
Roadmap for the Coming Year
Over the next 12 months, the alliance will focus on designing joint leadership initiatives, scaling alumni networks, and integrating student-voice models into governance.
Fellowship & Leadership Co-design: Synthesizing Teach For India’s fellowship framework with Shikshagraha’s community-led leadership models.
Network Integration: Connecting fellows and alumni with local governments, parent groups, and civil society actors to scale micro-improvements.
Student Agency & Participation: Embedding student-led civic projects into local school governance structures.
Leadership Perspectives
"By welcoming Teach For India into our network, we aim to further strengthen the roles of teachers, parents, youth leaders, communities, and institutions. By scaling collective action, we can build supportive environments where every child is prepared for the future."
— Khushboo Awasthi, Chief Curator, Shikshagraha
"Shikshagraha’s vision of building a movement not for one lakh, but for ten lakh schools, can drive comprehensive change in education. This partnership offers Teach For India’s fellows and alumni a powerful platform to scale their impact across the nation."
— Shaheen Mistri, CEO, Teach For India
Building a Future-Ready Public System
By shifting the focus from top-down infrastructure deployment to decentralized, leadership-driven action, this alliance aims to redefine how public school reform is achieved in India. By equipping educators, youth leaders, and local communities with the tools for collective action, Shikshagraha and Teach For India are laying the groundwork for a resilient, equitable, and future-ready public education system.
