Making Schools Better: Driving Lasting Change in Education in India

In the last 20 years, India’s universal education efforts have increased school access and enrollment, with 97% of children attending. However, reading and math scores remain low, with most students falling at least two grades behind.

Since 2006, we’ve partnered with government, social enterprises, edtech companies, and other organizations to ensure every student has access to quality education.

We’ve focused our efforts on three areas:

• Working with state governments to drive wide-reaching and lasting changes to schools
• Using student performance data and clear goals to improve learning quality
• Supporting school systems with tools and resources to support students at a classroom level

For many years, Rajasthan, one of India’s largest and most expansive school systems, used pen and paper to collect student data and track progress. Without real-time performance tracking, accountability was limited. We partnered to launch the first state-level data management system, improving accountability and boosting learning for more than nine million students in 65,000 schools.

When success in the classroom is measured by rote memorization, students often miss out on truly mastering essential skills. To change this, Haryana introduced competency-based assessments and Saksham certification, which recognizes students’ grade-level proficiency. This initiative sparked friendly competition among students, schools, and districts, driving momentum throughout the school system, with 86% of students ultimately achieving Saksham status.