Kalvi Kural 2025 – A Symposium on Transforming Primary Education in Tamil Nadu
Kalvi Kural 2025, Madhi Foundation’s annual symposium dedicated to reimagining and strengthening primary education in Tamil Nadu, was inaugurated by Dr. B. Chandra Mohan, IAS, Principal Secretary, School Education Department, Tamil Nadu, on June 27 at Residency Towers, T. Nagar, Chennai.
This year’s edition, spanning two days, is being hosted in collaboration with the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) and the Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS) as technical partners.
“Tamil Nadu has always believed that education is the one true power that can transcend societal barriers. When every child has access to quality education, it not only transforms their life but also the lives of generations to come. This belief has guided the State to ensure that schools are not just physically accessible—often within a kilometre—but also that education becomes the cornerstone of transformation for the child, the family, the State, and the world. Our flagship initiative, Ennum Ezhuthum (EE), is anchored in foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN), aiming to transform, remediate, and improve early learning outcomes. Through the large-scale SLAS assessment, we gained critical insights into classroom strengths and challenges, and the data clearly showed that EE is working,” said Dr. B. Chandra Mohan, IAS, Principal Secretary, School Education Department, Tamil Nadu.
He further added, “We’ve now launched THIRAN Iyakkam, a targeted effort for Classes 6 to 9 to improve learning outcomes. These insights are continuously feeding into our policy design, helping us keep a real-time pulse on the state of education.”
“We’ve also launched a large-scale career guidance programme to ensure that every Class 10 and 12 student can make informed choices based on their aptitude, preferences, and skills. With the highest Gross Enrollment Ratio in the country, Tamil Nadu is on the path to achieving milestones once thought unimaginable,” Dr. B. Chandra Mohan, IAS, said.
“Kalvi Kural is founded on a simple but powerful belief: that if we want meaningful, lasting change and reform, we must start by listening — listening not just to the familiar voices of policy, but to the lived experiences of every stakeholder — teachers, parents, children, administrators — whose realities and stories matter the most. When these voices are heard and honoured, real transformation becomes possible. Why do we focus on primary education at Madhi? Because that is where it all begins. For millions of children in India, primary school is not just the first experience of formal learning; it is sometimes the only one. The foundational years are when learning gaps emerge, but also when they can most powerfully be bridged. It is in these years that a child builds confidence, identity, and hope. If we fail them here, we risk failing them for life,” said Merlia Shaukath, CEO, Madhi Foundation.
“Primary education is the foundation, not just for the individual, but for the entire nation. As a country, while there has been considerable focus on primary education in recent years, we still have a long way to go. To make progress on this enormous challenge, it is important for the entire community—government officials, academia, parents, non-profit organisations, and the private sector—to come together and work as one team with a shared vision to improve primary education. Kalvi Kural provides a platform for these diverse voices to come together, share ideas, network, and form partnerships. I’m sure this will go a long way in improving primary education, and CEGIS is glad to play a part in supporting this event,” said Ramnath Sankaran, Lead – Education Sector, CEGIS.
Kalvi Kural is a two-day event featuring over 35 speakers from across the country. The symposium includes parallel sessions, panel discussions, masterclasses, and case panels.
Featured Speakers Include:
• Padma Shri Dr. Shantha Sinha, Child Rights Activist & Founder, Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation (MVF)
• Suhel Bidani, Digital & AI Lead, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Mercy Ramya I.S., IAS, Director, ICDS
• Milind Brahme, Professor, IIT Madras
• Vishal Sunil, Co-Founder & CTO, Rocket Learning
• Prema Rangachary, Director, Vidya Vanam
• Ankit Goel, Vice President, Samagra
• Damini Mainkar, COO, Leadership for Equity
• Divya Jayaraman, Project Lead, Reform Initiatives – School Education and Rural Societies
• Gautam Prakash, Senior Product Manager, Glific
• Gauthamraj Elango, Head of Technology, Reap Benefit Foundation
• Kavita Rajagopalan, Director, Global Schools Forum
• Krishnan Narayanaswamy, Program Manager, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
• Mainak Roy, Co-Founder & Director, Simple Education Foundation
• P.A. Naresh, Director, Elementary Education
• Parthajeet Das, Director, Central Square Foundation
• Poornima Arun, Founder, Marudam Farm School
• Prahalathan KK, Co-Founder, Bhumi
• Ramnath Sankaran, Lead – Education Sector, CEGIS
• Regila Marinus, Co-Founder & CEO, Vidhya Vidhai
• Samyukta Subramanian, Lead – ECE and Early Grades Program, Pratham Education Foundation
• Saransh Vaswani, Co-Founder, Saajha
• Sashwati Banerjee, Founder, Top Parent
• Sunitha Ravichandran, COO, Yein Udaan
• Vedika Agarwal, Founder, Yein Udaan
• Vighneswaran B., Program Lead – Organisation Development, The Education Alliance
🔗 For the full speaker list and schedule, visit:
https://events.madhifoundation.org/2025#/speakers
Inaugural Plenary:
The inaugural plenary, “Addressing the Foundational Learning Crisis: Charting the Way Forward,” featured Prof. Rekha Sharma Sen, Professor of Child Development, IGNOU Mr. Ranganath N. Krishna, Former MD & CEO, Grundfos Pumps India Pvt. Ltd. And was moderated by Vijayalakshmi Mohan, COO, Madhi Foundation.
Speakers emphasised that while assessments provide useful data, real change requires sustained, empathetic teacher support, classroom-level insights, and mentorship beyond one-time training. Accountability should guide, not penalise. Ranganath urged a shift from rote learning to curiosity-driven ecosystems and questioned societal definitions of success. Both panellists highlighted the importance of bottom-up change, collaborative action, and redefining impact. Public-private partnerships, if done meaningfully, can help scale innovations and build a more inclusive, learner-focused education system.
Special Segment:
A Children’s Panel moderated by Prabhakaran Karunamoorthi, City Director, Teach For India – Chennai, exploring students’ perspectives on education.
Panel by Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS):
Data-Driven Governance for FLN – Insights from Impact
This insightful session brought together practitioners and experts to discuss how data is transforming decision-making for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) — from the classroom to the policy level. The panel explored real-world examples of how robust data systems are informing strategies at school, district, and state levels, enabling more responsive and effective governance.
Panellists included:
• Kunal Chaturvedi, Program Lead, Mission Ankur, The Education Alliance
• Gayatri Vaidya, Associate Vice President, EiShiksha, Educational Initiatives
• Gaurav Singh, Associate Project Director, DPMU, Central Square Foundation
• Rambabu Pendem, State Head – Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, Pratham Education Foundation
The session was moderated by Ramnath Sankaran, Lead – Education Sector, CEGIS.
Through diverse perspectives and on-ground insights, the panel reinforced the critical role of data in shaping education outcomes and accelerating progress on the FLN agenda.
Report Launch:
The event will also mark the launch of ‘INSPIRE-TN’ – Indicators for School Performance, Innovation, and Reform in Education – Tamil Nadu, a report developed by MIDS and Madhi Foundation.
We look forward to your presence and coverage of this important conversation on the future of education.
About Kalvi Kural
Kalvi Kural is Madhi Foundation’s annual symposium dedicated to reimagining and transforming primary education in Tamil Nadu. Launched in 2024, it brings together educators, policymakers, researchers, and innovators to explore challenges and solutions in foundational learning. The 2025 edition features panel discussions on pedagogy, capacity building, data, technology, and community engagement. Beyond dialogue, Kalvi Kural is a space to co-create impactful, scalable solutions — all toward a future where every child in India has the opportunity to learn and thrive.
About Madhi Foundation
Madhi Foundation works to ensure that all children, especially the most
underserved, have access to excellent foundational education by aligning both the
government school systems and parent communities. As the Chief Management Partner for Tamil
Nadu’s State Literacy and Numeracy Mission (Ennum Ezhuthum), Madhi supports
over 37,000 schools, 1 lakh teachers, and 45,000 administrators.
Through its Communities Enabling Foundational Learning (CEFL) programme, it works with parents through grassroots initiatives and empowers them to play a role in their children’s foundational years. With operations expanding to Meghalaya and
Nagaland and pioneering research underway, Madhi continues to build a resilient
ecosystem to improve the quality of foundational learning across India.
Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS)
The Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS) is a non-profit organisation that works closely with state governments in India to strengthen state capacity and enable transformative improvements in governance.
Our work is informed by cutting-edge research, evidence, and a practical orientation toward implementable ideas. We partner with state governments to improve the tools they need to design effective governance reforms, while also offering strategic implementation support. Our focus is strengthening governance by improving four core functions of the government – outcome measurement, personnel management, strategic financial management and leveraging markets for improved public service delivery.
Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS)
The Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) was founded by Dr.Malcolm S Adiseshiah and Mrs. Elizabeth Adiseshiah, in January 1971, shortly after Dr.Adiseshiah’s retirement as Deputy Director-General of UNESCO.
In 1976 the Government of India through the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, sent a mission to study the possibility of developing MIDS into a national institute of social science research. On the recommendations of the mission the Institute was reconstituted as a National Institute in March 1977 under the joint sponsorship of the Government of India through the ICSSR and the Government of Tamil Nadu. The trustees gifted to the reconstituted National Institute its land and buildings, its library, furniture and equipment and a cash endowment. The Reserve Bank of India established a Chair in applied research in regional economics in the Institute in 1985.
