Central Square Foundation

22/05/2026

Always energising to hear from Sh. Awanish Awasthi Ji, IAS (Retd.), Advisor to Hon'ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, on the tremendous progress being made by the state in education, infrastructure, law and order, and more.

📽️ Watch this short clip from The Times of India ‘9 Defining Years of Transformation' Conclave held in Lucknow.

Recognising the performance of Uttar Pradesh's government schools being 10% higher than the national average for Grade 3 language and Math skills as per the National Council of Educational Research and Training - NCERT PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, Awanish Ji highlights the critical role that the state plays in improving !

CSF is proud to be supporting the Department of Basic Education Uttar Pradesh in driving Mission implementation for stronger FLN outcomes.

Government of UP MYogiAdityanath

21/05/2026

"Be it teachers, parents or school principals - all that stakeholders eventually want is for students' to become better. But how to bring about that change was the question." 💡

Don't forget to tune in to the latest episode of , where we hear from Shri Gaurav Agrawal, IAS (Former District Magistrate and District Collector, Jodhpur) on how innovations like 'School Report Cards' helped mainstream conversations on action and accountability with the of school performance data.

A great lesson on what it takes to introduce a new idea for and drive actual uptake for it!

Do catch the full episode on our YouTube channel:
📽️ https://tinyurl.com/EDgeTalks-Jodhpur

18/05/2026

📰At the ‘9 Defining Years of Transformation' Conclave organised by The Times of India in Lucknow last week, CSF CEO Ishmeet Singh engaged with his co-panelists in a discussion on the theme '9 Years of Holistic Development’.

With conversations around developments in across key areas including administration, investment, infrastructure and public welfare, Ishmeet shared his thoughts on how the "state of UP is now performing strongly on educational learning outcomes - thanks to the Mission and the vision of the Hon'ble Chief Minister Sh. Yogi Adityanath Ji".

Catch a glimpse from the discussion, and read more highlights from the event in the TOI exclusive story linked in the comments.

MYogiAdityanath | Department of Basic Education Uttar Pradesh

11/05/2026

At CSF , one of the most joyful moments of the day came alive through ‘Masti Ki Paathshala’ — a special puppetry engagement session by Sesame Workshop - India with Grade 2 & 3 students from Ghaziabad. ✨

Through the playful storytelling and interactive performances of beloved Sesame Workshop characters - Elmo and Chamki, the session beautifully demonstrated how joyful learning can spark curiosity, confidence, and participation among young learners.

From laughter-filled moments to meaningful learning, the performance reminded us that foundational learning is most powerful when children are actively engaged, having fun and feeling seen. 💛

At the heart of every conversation on education reform, policy and systems change, are children, and ‘Masti Ki Paathshala’ brought that spirit to the forefront in the most memorable way.

Watch the full session now: https://tinyurl.com/MastiKiPathshala-EDuConclave

Department of Basic Education Uttar Pradesh

Central Square Foundation hosted the CSF EDuConclave 2026 on 24 April 2026 in New Delhi, bringing together leaders from across the education ecosystem to adv...

09/05/2026

🗣️ "The middle layer comprises of administrative and academic individuals with diverse responsibilities that are often sandwiched between the state and teachers. Unclear job responsibilities, lack of continuous professional development & an over-emphasis on driving compliance are a few of the challenges they face. Our goal should be to help them move from being a conduit for information to individuals who process that information & are able to make informed decisions for lasting impact in education".

This is how CSF's Anustup Nayak (Project Director, Foundational Learning) highlighted the problem statement of Middle Tier Management in the education system at an insightful knowledge-exchange session on 'Middle Tier Reform' at the South-South Learning Symposium convened by British Council in partnership with National Council of Educational Research and Training - NCERT.

Catch some glimpses from the event 📸 It was also encouraging to hear from Shri Sanjay Kumar, IAS (Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India) and senior ministry officials sharing their vision for digital learning, multilingual education, NIPUN Bharat, meaningful classroom engagement and collaborative learning at the Symposium.

Anustup's session aimed at bringing together global and national partners to share evidence, practical insights, and implementation experiences across key thematic areas, where he shared some examples from CSF's work with states like in strengthening the middle cadre.

Big thanks to Deborah Kimathi for her insightful session as well, and to all those who attended for their active participation!

08/05/2026

At CSF , we hosted an engaging Rapid Fire Session with Dr. Parmod Kumar (FLN State Nodal Officer, Nipun Haryana Mission) and Dr. Rukmini Banerji (CEO, Pratham Education Foundation) on:
✅ how they see FLN reforms taking shape in India
✅ what they see as the need of the hour for lasting impact on SLO improvements, and much more!

No long answers, No jargon.
Just years of experience distilled into a fun, yet powerful conversation.

Watch the full session anchored by CSF's Sambhrant Srivastava now: https://tinyurl.com/RapidFireSession

Central Square Foundation hosted the CSF EDuConclave 2026 on 24 April 2026 in New Delhi, bringing together leaders from across the education ecosystem to adv...

07/05/2026

As part of the South–South Learning Symposium convened by the British Council in partnership with National Council of Educational Research and Training - NCERT this week, CSF anchored the Haryana field immersion for an international delegation of senior education leaders, policymakers, curriculum experts, researchers and assessment specialists from 10 countries - including Tanzania, Nigeria, Nepal, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, the United Kingdom, Ireland and India. 🌍🤝

This symposium, with participation from Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), The Learning Generation Initiative, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank Group, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and What Works Hub for Global Education, aims to facilitate knowledge exchange & partnerships on key priorities like foundational learning, multilingual education & assessment systems, teacher capacity-building, governance mechanisms and digital transformation in school education systems.

In Haryana, the delegation visited government primary schools across Gurugram, Rohtak, Jhajjar and Sonipat districts to see the Nipun Haryana Mission in action! Delegates interacted with teachers and FLN Coordinators to understand how the Mission is being implemented at the last mile, and showed keen interest in the state's tech, data-led initiatives such as NIPUN Lakshya Teacher App, Mentor App and the Nipun Haryana Dashboard. 📱

It was also encouraging to hear delegate reflections during the post-visit interaction session with Sh. Jeetinder Joshi (HCS, Joint Director - Administration, Elementary Education, Haryana) and Dr. Parmod Kumar (State Nodal Officer, FLN Haryana) - gratitude to all contributing partners!

05/05/2026

From keynote reflections by senior policymakers & power-packed panel discussions with changemakers and innovators, to a fun-filled learning session with students, the CSF 2026 was a forum that anchored system-level conversations in classroom realities. ✨

For us at CSF, it was a fulfilling moment to bring together all ecosystem mobilisers for a day of knowledge sharing, ideation and much more, as we move together towards building a Viksit Bharat where all children can learn and thrive.

Catch some glimpses from the day below! ||

01/05/2026

"The individual assessments of students Jivraj and Aditya on each topic – from learning to excelling – are part of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiative by the district administration and education department officials, with separate reports prepared in a matter of seconds for each student."

Read this article by Hamza Khan from Indian Express where he talks about the AI Assessments pilot in Jodhpur - and how this initiative is not only helping in generation of detailed, analytical student report cards, but also creating 'School Report Cards' which are being shared with parents for better decision making. 👇

https://tinyurl.com/IE-Jodhpur

CSF is proud to have supported Shri Gaurav Agrawal Ji (DC, Jodhpur) and the department on this initiative!

In Jodhpur, an AI-driven pilot has graded over 70,000 students across 1,000 schools in seconds, generating detailed, bias-free report cards that help teachers identify learning gaps and plan targeted interventions

29/04/2026

📌 CSF was a convening anchored in the sharing of success stories and best practices for in India - attended by key policy makers, members of the education practitioner community, academia, and civil society.

Through various sessions, the Conclave focussed on one core question: How do we ensure strong foundational learning for every child in India, leading up to the Hon’ble Prime Minister's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047?

Policy makers and our special guests collectively shared reflections on how FLN and the education system overall can be strengthened to achieve this vision - catch some excerpts! 💬

Ministry of Education | NITI Aayog | Bharti Airtel Foundation | Department of Basic Education Uttar Pradesh

27/04/2026