Raising learning outcomes in backward areas linked to improving governance

KEF is working with the state and district officials to resolve many archaic, pre-colonial rules and procedures

The year 2020 may have been many things to many people, but for Aditya Natraj, head of Kaivalya Education Foundation (KEF), it has been, above all, an eye-opener.

But this story begins a bit earlier. Till April 2018, KEF, a foundation financed by the Piramal Group, was trying to fix India’s unwieldy and crumbling government education system by focussing on the school leader. Its work in a few backward districts of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat resulted in improvements in their functioning. Working in 1200 schools across 10 locations, it saw a nearly 20 per cent improvement in foundational skills for