Our Approach
To prepare our Children for their future, we need to equip the system to create future-ready learning experiences within our classrooms.
Our Children have not been equipped to be successful.
Of those educated below primary education, 44% tend to engage in casual employment.
*ILO’s India Employment Report 2024
And only 48.7% of educated youths are employable.
*India Skills Report 2022 (Wheebox 2022)
Lack of a quality education stunts their growth.
Only 21.6% of Grade V Students can do basic Division.
Only 57.3% of 14-18 yr old Students can read in English.
*ASER 2023: Beyond Basics
Majority are studying in Govt. Schools
64.2% of all School-going Children are studying in Government Schools.
*The State of Teachers Teaching and Teacher Education by CETE, TISS
Of all the Government School Students, 73.6% belong to Caste Minorities, 17.8% are from Religious Minorities, and 48% are Girls.
*UDISE Report 2021-22
The Problem We Are Solving
Our Children's Future is at risk.
Our Journey so far
Our Co-Founders started their journey as teachers but soon realized that their impact was valuable but only a drop in the ocean. Curious about scaling impact, they started working with the local Government where they saw their influence grow across levels.
Started in 2017, with a primary focus on the geography of Pune City in partnership with MSCERT, Leadership For Equity has now scaled to 5 States in India by partnering with State Government Education bodies and renowned organizations like World Bank, Amazon, code.org and many more.
Through these last 7 years, our approach towards solving the educational equity crisis has evolved. We have filtered our approach through the years as we gained deeper understanding of the problem and we have grown into a key player in the ed equity movement.
2017-18
After being incubated under Thermax Foundation as a Pune City Connect (PCC) initiative, Leadership For Equity was legally registered on June 13, 2017. The first project was the Sahyogi Dal Project with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). During this time, a dialogue was initiated with SCERT Pune & the State Education Department.
2018-19
We signed a Project Management Unit/ Memorandum of Understanding with the Maharashtra Government and conducted capacity-building programs with SCERT & DIET faculty across Maharashtra. The MITRA project was reshaped into DIKSHA. We partnered with SCERT MH for our first blended training program on spoken English and expanded our projects into the Nashik District. In this year, we were also recognized by the Nudge Incubator Program.
2019-20
We partnered with SCERT MH on the Maharashtra COVID-19 Education Response and launched the LEAD project. Our projects expanded into the Satara, Pune, and Akola districts. We were nominated to multiple MH & NCERT Education Committees.
2020-21
We signed PMUs/MoUs with the FLN Mission MH, Tribal Dept. MH, SCERT Tripura, and Haryana. We partnered with the World Bank on the AP Govt. SALT Project and the Amazon Future Engineers Project. Our projects expanded into Nagpur with the Akanksha Foundation. We were recognized by the Nudge Accelerator Program.
2021-22
Our partnerships expanded from two CSR partners to five CSR partners, along with university partnerships like TISS Mumbai & Flame University. The Amazon Future Engineers Program expanded into Andhra Pradesh in partnership with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (AP Govt.) & Quest Alliance. We were certified as ‘The Best Place to Work’ in the NGO category for the third time.
2022-23
We partnered with the World Bank-funded Nagaland Govt. NECTAR Project and scaled the Amazon Future Engineers CS Teacher Excellence Program to nine districts with an MoU with the Govt. of Maharashtra & CEL. Our projects expanded into Nagaland State, Sindhudurg, Ahmednagar & Chandrapur District. We were invited to showcase our work at the Global G20 Education Summit in Pune and partnered with Brookings CUE on the Family Engagement Network.
2023-24
We expanded our partnerships from two CSR partners to five CSR partners, along with university partnerships like TISS Mumbai & Flame University. The Amazon Future Engineers Program expanded into Andhra Pradesh in partnership with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (AP Govt.) & Quest Alliance. We were certified as ‘The Best Place to Work’ in the NGO category for the third time.
Why?
The Public Education is overburdened and its people are not taught the necessary skills to ensure effective delivery of a Future-Ready Education. Let's take a took.
This is the Public Education System (in brief).
It has three broad layers with an overarching responsibility in the system.
The maximum load of implementation falls on the Government Officers in the middle management rung of the Public Education System.
Senior Management Rung
National and State Level
Policies and Frameworks for Execution
Classrooms
Educators
Teaching Practices
Middle Management Rung
State, District, Block and Cluster Levels
Implementation and Last Mile Delivery
But there are challenges preventing the middle management rung of the System from delivering.
Teacher Education Quality
Only 1.5% of candidates scored more than 70% in the Teacher Eligibility Test.
*The State of Teachers Teaching and Teacher Education Report
Field Officer Skills
Field Officer Skills
Only 30% Block Resource Coordinators and 54% Cluster Resource Coordinators had been trained for their jobs.
*Center For Policy Research 2022
Educational Governance
National average of Educational Governance has the lowest performance score of 21.73%
*FLN Report 2023 by EAC-PM
Our Mission
We improve the learning & well-being of children at scale by building the systemic capacity of Governments through Teachers & Academic Leaders.
Our Vision
We envision Public Education Systems that refuse to let Children down.
What drives us?
Our Solution
We have rooted our approach in bridging the gaps in the System that are obstructing it from delivering a Future-Ready Education for all Children.
To prepare our Children for their future, we need to equip the system to create future-ready learning experiences within our classrooms.
My academic experiences helped me learn about the impact of intersectionality of class, caste, physical ability, etc. on critical social aspects like education.
We have to embed the idea of empathy in the public education system in service of the larger vision of true equity.
Siddesh Sarma
Co-Founder & Chief Program Officer
My key takeaway from teaching was that there is so much more work to be done.
I have a vision for an India where there is an equality in access to excellent education to every child.
Madhukar Banuri
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Hear from our Founders
Our Board
Riah Forbes
Director, Forbes Marshall Ltd.
Shaveta Sharma
Managing Director, Central Square Foundation
Vivek Ragavan
Trustee, RG Manudhane
Paresh Parasnis
Former CEO, Piramal Foundation
Murugan Vasudevan
Director & CEO, Veddis Foundation
Aakanksha Gulati
Director, ACT Grants
Ujwal Thakar
Chairman, Educate Girls
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Prof. Mythili Ramchand
Co-Chairperson, CETE, TISS
Rati Forbes
Director, Forbes Marshall Limited
Our Board Members at Leadership For Equity are more than just advisors; they are champions of change. Their wealth of experience and commitment to educational equity strengthens our mission to prepare children for a successful future.
Our Mission
We improve the learning & well-being of children at scale
by building the systemic capacity of Governments through
Teachers & Academic Leaders.
Our Vision
We envision Public Education Systems that refuse to let Children down.
What are we working towards?
What guides us?
Patience
We accept our problems without becoming annoyed or anxious.
Collaboration
We work together towards a collective objective.
Integrity
We strive to be ethical in our actions.
Effectiveness
We commit to achieving intended results.
Ownership
We assess the situation and initiate action independently.
Empathy
We identify, understand and act on the emotions and perspectives of others around us.
Our Team
Madhukar Reddy Banuri
Founder Director
Siddesh Sarma
Founder Director
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Damini Mainkar
Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Saiprasad Sale
Director
Anirudh Prasadh
Director
Aditi Gupta
Associate Director
Neha Raju Nair
Associate Director
Aditya Ramachandran
Associate Director
Ram Dhangar
Head
Purna Chandra Rao
Senior Project Associate
Mahesh Lahu Mhetre
Project Associate
Asq Ali Baig
Senior Project Associate
Shrayashi Sumitkumar Ghosh
Project Associate
Sai Manoj Kodiganti
Project Manager
Kunal Patil
Project Associate
Shaikh Shaheera Naaz
Project Associate
Lavanya Gajjela
Project Associate
Shivi Thapliyal
Project Associate
Krishnadarsan S S
Project Associate
Shaik Shakeel
Project Associate
We started with 19 members in 2017 and after a 4x growth in 7 years, we are a team of 100+ members that is bound together by a strong culture rooted in our vision and mission. Central to this culture is our commitment to nurturing our members, fostering a sense of autonomy, and continually investing in the learning and development of every team member.