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<p><span ><strong>Pratham Educational Foundation</strong></span>, Mumbai</p><p><strong>Key people:</strong> Madhav Chavan, Farida Lambay, Founders; Ajay Piramal, Chairman; Rukmini Banerji, CEO</p><p><strong>Year of inception:</strong> 1995</p><div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="089229a6-c32e-4935-b474-fc28b6f5f707" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><amp-img  src="https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/styles/medium_crop_simple/public/2026-01/pratham-2.jpg?VersionId=ffT2X7VrdMyg8Rzgo3WMLJZmKjVM4CTN&size=750:*&size=750:*" alt = "" height="1732" width="770" class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" layout="responsive"></amp-img></div>


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</div><p><span ><span ><strong><span >P</span></strong></span></span>ratham began with a simple if unfashionable idea: that education reform in India would succeed only as a societal mission, drawing in government, business and civil society. That instinct shaped Pratham’s mission—“Every child in school and learning well”—and continues to influence its work today.</p><p>Among Pratham’s earliest work was setting up 150 balwadis in Mumbai’s poorer neighbourhoods. Community-run and low-cost, these preschools relied on local women and minimal infrastructure. Within two years, Pratham was supporting nearly 3,500 balwadis.</p><p>By the late 1990s, though, Pratham’s focus widened beyond preschooling. Working with Mumbai’s municipal schools, it pioneered urban ‘bridge courses’ to mainstream out-of-school children, besides the Balsakhi programme that provided remedial support to pupils already enrolled but lagging.</p><p>Over time, the organisation learned several lessons of its own. Enrolment, as CEO Rukmini Banerji notes, is not the same as learning. Children progress fastest when grouped by learning level rather than age. Dropouts deserve second chances. These insights found expression in two of Pratham’s most influential innovations.</p><p>The first is ASER, the Annual Status of Education Report, a nationwide household survey conducted in every rural district. By measuring basic reading and arithmetic rather than years of schooling, ASER shifted India’s education debate from access to outcomes. Since 2016, ASER has been conducted every alternate year, with intervening editions focusing on specific age groups, including early childhood (ages 4–8) and adolescents (14–18).</p><p>The second is Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL), Pratham’s answer to the stubborn reality that many children remain unable to read or calculate despite years in school. TaRL groups children by ability, uses simple assessments, temporarily sets aside grade-level curricula and delivers targeted instruction. Evaluated rigorously and replicated across India and in over 20 countries, it has been endorsed by the World Bank’s Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel as one of the most cost-effective “Great Buys” in global education.</p><div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="5d299b80-ba5f-4011-8784-8c89942c1253" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><amp-img  src="https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/styles/medium_crop_simple/public/2026-01/pratham-3.jpg?VersionId=7eUpEULYL48kWJdhEPrzOQr7i9LeZJib&size=750:*&size=750:*" alt = "" height="297" width="770" class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" layout="responsive"></amp-img></div>


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</div><p>Pratham has since broadened its remit. Its Early Years programme, aligned with National Education Policy 2020, emphasises play-based learning, low-cost materials and parental involvement, in statewide partnerships in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The Hamara Gaon initiative embeds Pratham in communities for 3-5 years to ensure foundational literacy and numeracy, now spanning over 5,000 communities across 18 states. Its Second Chance programme enables school dropouts—mostly girls and women—to complete Grade 10; nearly 12,000 are expected to sit board exams this year. Pratham has shown how commitment, community and caring can make the impossible possible.</p><div id="lrcmtcont"></div><div class="end_story">- Ends</div><div class="dottedimg"></div><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Shyam Balasubramanian</div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Jan 24, 2026 21:19 IST</div></div></div>

Gems of India | Republic Day Special

<p><span style="color:#c0392b;"><strong>Pratham Educational Foundation</strong></span>, Mumbai</p><p><strong>Key people:</strong> Madhav Chavan, Farida Lambay, Founders; Ajay Piramal, Chairman; Rukmini Banerji, CEO</p><p><strong>Year of inception:</strong> 1995</p><div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="089229a6-c32e-4935-b474-fc28b6f5f707" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><img  height="1732"  title=""  width="770"  class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" alt="" src="https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/styles/medium_crop_simple/public/2026-01/pratham-2.jpg?VersionId=ffT2X7VrdMyg8Rzgo3WMLJZmKjVM4CTN&size=750:*" loading="lazy" /></div>


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  </article>
</div><p><span style="color:#c0392b;"><span style="font-family:verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 58px;">P</span></strong></span></span>ratham began with a simple if unfashionable idea: that education reform in India would succeed only as a societal mission, drawing in government, business and civil society. That instinct shaped Pratham’s mission—“Every child in school and learning well”—and continues to influence its work today.</p><p>Among Pratham’s earliest work was setting up 150 balwadis in Mumbai’s poorer neighbourhoods. Community-run and low-cost, these preschools relied on local women and minimal infrastructure. Within two years, Pratham was supporting nearly 3,500 balwadis.</p><p>By the late 1990s, though, Pratham’s focus widened beyond preschooling. Working with Mumbai’s municipal schools, it pioneered urban ‘bridge courses’ to mainstream out-of-school children, besides the Balsakhi programme that provided remedial support to pupils already enrolled but lagging.</p><p>Over time, the organisation learned several lessons of its own. Enrolment, as CEO Rukmini Banerji notes, is not the same as learning. Children progress fastest when grouped by learning level rather than age. Dropouts deserve second chances. These insights found expression in two of Pratham’s most influential innovations.</p><p>The first is ASER, the Annual Status of Education Report, a nationwide household survey conducted in every rural district. By measuring basic reading and arithmetic rather than years of schooling, ASER shifted India’s education debate from access to outcomes. Since 2016, ASER has been conducted every alternate year, with intervening editions focusing on specific age groups, including early childhood (ages 4–8) and adolescents (14–18).</p><p>The second is Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL), Pratham’s answer to the stubborn reality that many children remain unable to read or calculate despite years in school. TaRL groups children by ability, uses simple assessments, temporarily sets aside grade-level curricula and delivers targeted instruction. Evaluated rigorously and replicated across India and in over 20 countries, it has been endorsed by the World Bank’s Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel as one of the most cost-effective “Great Buys” in global education.</p><div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="5d299b80-ba5f-4011-8784-8c89942c1253" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <div class="itgimage"><img  height="297"  title=""  width="770"  class="image-style-medium-crop-simple" alt="" src="https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/indiatoday/styles/medium_crop_simple/public/2026-01/pratham-3.jpg?VersionId=7eUpEULYL48kWJdhEPrzOQr7i9LeZJib&size=750:*" loading="lazy" /></div>


</div>
      
  </article>
</div><p>Pratham has since broadened its remit. Its Early Years programme, aligned with National Education Policy 2020, emphasises play-based learning, low-cost materials and parental involvement, in statewide partnerships in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The Hamara Gaon initiative embeds Pratham in communities for 3-5 years to ensure foundational literacy and numeracy, now spanning over 5,000 communities across 18 states. Its Second Chance programme enables school dropouts—mostly girls and women—to complete Grade 10; nearly 12,000 are expected to sit board exams this year. Pratham has shown how commitment, community and caring can make the impossible possible.</p><div id="lrcmtcont"></div><div class="end_story">- Ends</div><div class="dottedimg"></div><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Shyam Balasubramanian</div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Jan 24, 2026 21:19 IST</div></div></div>

Pratham has deeply influenced policy and teaching practices in schools across India by focusing on outcomes rather than just access and conducting benchmark surveys to assess the quality of education being imparted

India Today

The teacher of teachers | Pratham Educational Foundation, Mumbai - India Today

The teacher of teachers | Pratham Educational Foundation, Mumbai

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The teacher of teachers | Pratham Educational Foundation, Mumbai

Pratham has deeply influenced policy and teaching practices in schools across India by focusing on outcomes rather than just access and conducting benchmark surveys to assess the quality of education being imparted

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