The Akanksha Foundation runs a network of 26 innovative schools in India, in partnership with local municipal corporations to provide free of cost education to children from low-income communities to ensure that ALL children receive a high-quality education, irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds.

Our vision is to impact 1 million children via excellent government schools.

Our mission to build one of the largest networks of innovative schools that empowers students to maximise their potential + influences systemic reform

Akanksha works in the field of education, initiating school reform through the School Project. The School Project model has been adapted from best practices of high-performing schools around the world and Akanksha’s own extensive experience in education gathered over its 30 years of serving some of the poorest slum communities of Mumbai and Pune. Currently, Akanksha reaches out to nearly 12,000 children through 26 schools in the Indian cities of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. It also serves its extensive network of over 4000 alumni.

Please visit the Foundation website to learn more http://www.akanksha.org/
1991
Shaheen Mistri starts the first Akanksha center with 15 children at Holy Name School in Colaba, Mumbai
1996
Art for Akanksha is launched to empower children with a strong creative education and provide art-related career opportunities to Akanksha alumni
2000
Akanksha begins operations in Pune in collaboration with Thermax Social Initiatives Foundation
2003
Akanksha conducts its first school interventions in government schools in Mumbai and Pune
2007
The School Project adopts its first municipal school with Thermax Foundation
2008
Akanksha and Teach to Lead collaborate to implement Teach for India, a Fellowship program aiming to end educational inequity.
2011
Akanksha reaches 10 schools in Mumbai and Pune
2013
The first batch of students at KC Thackeray Vidya Niketan (Akanksha’s first school opened in Pune) graduate school with a 100% pass result in the SSC exam
2014
The Social Work department is created to link Akanksha with its students’ communities
2015
The Mentor Program is launched so that individuals from the corporate world can provide guidance to students
2016
Akanksha reaches 20 schools in Mumbai and Pune
2018
Akanksha ties up with a CBSE school in Navi Mumbai and runs 21 schools in total
2020
Akanksha adopted the Blended Learning approach to optimize remote learning
2021

Akanksha collaborates with the Nagpur Municipal Corporation to run 6 schools in Nagpur and reaches a total of 27 schools