In 2006, a group of young leaders working to reform education in India came together to seek an innovative solution to end educational inequity in the country. The group firmly believed that any change in the education sector needed to be systemic and that India needed to be infused with a large number of leaders who would work towards achieving educational equity for all children. During this time, the group met with Wendy Kopp, CEO and Founder of Teach For America (TFA), to discuss the feasibility of Teach For America’s Theory of Change working in India.
Seeking to adapt the Teach For America model to the Indian context, the group engaged with a number of stakeholders within the government, at academic institutions and at corporations and were encouraged by the favorable response they received. A few months later, a twelve week study was launched by McKinsey & Company to determine the feasibility of implementing this model in India. The study concluded favorably and at the end of the process, plans to place the first cohort of Fellows and to scale up the movement were outlined.
