Saurabh Taneja, CEO of the Akanksha Foundation, on Making Schools Great in India

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Overview

Saurabh Taneja, CEO of the Akanksha Foundation, shares how his team is transforming education in India through deep community engagement, purpose-driven teaching, and innovative public-private partnerships.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why access isn’t the biggest issue in India’s education system—but learning outcomes are.

• How Akanksha schools blend social work, pedagogy, and emotional support to reshape student trajectories.

• The role of India’s CSR law in driving philanthropic investment in education.

• What alumni are doing to give back, and why many return to teach.

In-depth Notes

Saurabh Taneja, CEO of the Akanksha Foundation, offers a compelling exploration into how India’s education sector is being reshaped through innovative public-private partnerships. Drawing from over three decades of the Foundation’s evolution, he outlines the journey from modest after-school programs in Mumbai’s underserved communities to a system of fully integrated public schools serving thousands of students. The transformation, rooted in a model that fuses governmental infrastructure, philanthropic capital, and professional educational management, provides a blueprint for systemic reform in developing-world contexts.

The public-private partnership (PPP) model championed by Akanksha challenges prevailing assumptions that public schools in India are solely failing due to lack of access. In fact, access has largely been addressed—over 99% of Indian children are enrolled in school—but the learning outcomes remain troubling. Many students significantly lag behind their grade level, with deficits in reading and arithmetic that underscore a deeper systemic issue. Through its PPP schools, Akanksha assumes operational control of state-funded infrastructure, bringing in rigorously trained and mission-driven teachers, principals, and social workers who form the bedrock of the schools’ transformative culture.

Taneja emphasizes that the Foundation’s strength lies not just in academics, but in the deeply relational ethos that binds students, educators, and community. Teachers are not simply content experts; they also serve as social workers, counselors, mentors, and curriculum designers. The result is a school environment that is joyful, disciplined, and inclusive. Students begin each day with emotional check-ins before transitioning to interactive, high-rigor academic work. Mealtimes are communal, relationship-building opportunities. The goal is not simply literacy or numeracy, but cultivating a sense of belonging, aspiration, and civic purpose.

This mission is bolstered by India’s landmark 2013 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) law, which mandates that companies allocate 2% of post-tax profits to social initiatives. Akanksha has successfully leveraged this policy, building strong partnerships with corporations like Apple, Bank of America, and Infosys. Beyond financial contributions, corporate partners offer mentorship, volunteer time, and strategic support, helping to form a robust ecosystem around each school.

Alumni play a powerful role in sustaining this ecosystem. Many return to teach, mentor, or support current students. Nearly 40% are actively involved in community service, far surpassing national averages, and offering a strong testament to Akanksha’s model of values-based education. Stories of alumni achieving international scholarships or supporting peers through major milestones reflect the profound and lasting impact of the Foundation’s work.

Looking ahead, Taneja resists the temptation to focus purely on scale. His priorities are twofold: first, to elevate current schools from good to great by embracing technologies that allow for personalized, future-ready education while never compromising the irreplaceable human touch of teaching. Second, to develop the PPP framework into a replicable, scalable model that can influence education policy and delivery at the state or even national level.

About Saurabh Taneja

Saurabh Taneja is CEO of The Akanksha Foundation, a non-profit organization with a mission to impact the lives of low-income children, enabling them to maximize their potential and transform their lives. He leads a team of 1000+ educators and staff - all serving 26 schools that educate 14,000 children and a network of 5,100 Akanksha alumni across Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.

Under Saurabh’s leadership, Akanksha has set up its operations in Nagpur in a unique public private partnership and multiplied its impact by partnering with city governments of Nagpur and Pimpri Chinchwad to improve holistic learning outcomes across 200+ public schools.

One of the Akanksha Foundation’s schools was awarded (top 3) “The World’s Best Schools Prize” under “community collaboration” in 2022. Akanksha Foundation was recently (2024) also awarded Nexus of Good Award.

Previously, Saurabh spent four years as a founding school leader of Acharya Vinoba Bhave School (AVBS), Akanksha's first stand-alone secondary school. During the 4-years of his school leadership, he has ensured that all students pass the high stakes Gr 10 exam and join the junior college. The school's success has inspired Akanksha, other organizations and local government authorities to start similar school models in the city.

Before joining the Akanksha Foundation, Saurabh worked with Bodh Shiksha Samiti, UNICEF and the Government of Rajasthan on large-scale school transformation projects and key education policies. Saurabh is also a Teach for India fellow from its first cohort (2009-11) and a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi (2003-07)

Saurabh also serves on the Board of Directors of The Akanksha Foundation.