Oxford study flags need for govt-civil society partnerships to scale education reforms

Bengaluru: Reforming India’s public education system at scale will require closer collaboration between governments, civil society and local communities. This collaboration must ensure that partnerships strengthen rather than substitute state capacity, according to a new University of Oxford study on the Shikshagraha movement.

The study, Orchestrating Education System Change: Insights from the Shikshagraha Movement, published by the Government Outcomes Lab at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, examines how government and civil society can work together to drive systemic change in public education.

Backed by Infosys co-founder SD Shibulal, Shikshagraha aims to improve one million public schools by mobilising parents, women and youth, and by supporting teachers, school leaders and government officials.


More than 35 civil society, industry and philanthropic partners in the Shikshagraha network are currently working to strengthen over 117,000 schools across 33 districts in 14 states and Union Territories.

The Oxford study finds that government and civil society have distinct but complementary roles in scaling education reforms. Governments provide the mandate and institutional capacity to implement policy across the system, while civil society organisations bring local knowledge, experimentation and the ability to adapt approaches to different contexts.

The study cautions that collaboration is most effective when external organisations work within the priorities and constraints of public education systems rather than creating parallel structures.

“Transformation of public education requires the combined and coordinated effort of many—government, civil society, communities and philanthropy working in genuine partnership. No single sector can do it alone,” Shibulal, founder of ShikshaLokam, said in his foreword.

Professor Stefan Dercon, Professor of Economic Policy at Oxford and former Chief Economist at the UK’s Department for International Development, said education reforms had often focused on what governments should do differently, including curriculum, accountability and targets, while paying less attention to implementation.

He said effective implementation depended on strong relationships between governments, communities, civil society organisations and local leaders who determine whether reforms ultimately reach children.

The study also highlights risks in government-civil society partnerships. Poorly coordinated interventions can increase the burden on schools, while excessive government dependence on external organisations can weaken state capacity. Competition among organisations for funding, access and recognition could also undermine collective action.

The research is based on interviews with 30 stakeholders from the Indian education system and the Shikshagraha network, including serving and former government officials, civil society organisations and philanthropic donors. Researchers also conducted fieldwork in New Delhi, Gaya, Patna, Bengaluru and Mysuru.

“India does not have an education-solutions problem; it has a system-change problem,” said Khushboo Awasthi, Chief Curator, Shikshagraha and co-founder, ShikshaLokam.

She said the challenge was to create conditions for existing solutions to connect, adapt to local contexts and contribute to sustained system-wide change.