A people’s movement towards education equity
How can a collapsing school become a thriving community hub? What breaks the silence around menstrual health? How can leaders help students overcome TB stigma? Shikshagraha Awards 2026 nominees found extraordinary answers. This third volume of 'Small Steps to Build Great Schools' celebrates their journeys of transforming schools into living libraries, bridging healthcare and education and creating spaces where students learn with dignity and hope.
What does it take to turnaround a failing school in a remote setting? How to make an entire block NIPUN proficient? How can technology unlock student agency? Education leaders from different corners of the country resolved to find the answers, and how! The second volume of ‘Small Steps to Build Great Schools’, features 17 inspiring stories of strong education leadership.
Schools are often imagined as places children go to learn. But learning never happens in isolation.
A reflective dialogue between a mother and a systems thinker, exploring what “positive growth” truly means—beyond milestones—through care, power, responsibility, and the everyday worlds shaping childhood.
How Rural Communities Won School Bus Services Through Collective Action
Shikshagraha transforms India’s public schools by empowering those closest to the child to drive micro-improvements—scaling change through shared capabilities, co-creation, and powerful network effects.
Discover how an experiment within the Shikshagraha movement has led to youth across the country working towards improving public schools.
Once in a while, we get a glimpse of this education leadership in films. We identified some of these inspiring portrayals and would like to present them with the [imaginary] Shikshgraha Award. Read our list of winners.
When Rani Chandrashekar brought her community together to talk about schools and importance of education for the children, it led to real, immediate change—from on-the-spot enrollment of children to coordination among different state departments to ensure continuity of learning for the students. This story captures how everyday leadership and quiet persistence can make a lasting difference. Read on to see how it unfolded.
In Muzaffarpur’s villages, women like Rita Devi and Kavita are using Shiksha Chaupals to challenge early marriage, school dropouts, and patriarchy, ensuring that no girl is left behind.
In classrooms and in corridors of policy, educators hold more than just knowledge, they hold space. For trust. For emotion. For change. In this prose-like, co-authored reflection, we, an educator (Vani) and a systems practitioner (Vinay), explore the quiet, often invisible labour of care that underpins our work in education.
Read about how Rajitha N is Serving Children, Strengthening Communities in Karnataka's tribal communities
How Ranjan Kumar tackled teacher shortages to rebuild a school—and build a future for his students.
Transforming with Love: Rebuilding a School, Restoring a Community
Explore how Deve Kichche is rewriting the future of education in Dornapala, bringing learning and hope to remote villages.
Uncover how People for Change Fellow Surmila Kisku is transforming a rural primary school into a hub of creativity and learning.
See how ICRW’s UMANG programme inspired Sharmila to defy expectations and lead young women towards education.
Learn how Vidhya Vidhai’s House System in Nagapattinam is breaking down barriers and bringing students together.
Discover how Involve’s ‘From Zero to One’ journey in Bhagalpur, Bihar, is empowering students with newfound confidence in learning.
