Mantra 4 Change

Founding Philosophy:
Mantra4Change began in 2013 with a vision to improve the quality of education in India. What started as a small team working in just two schools in Bangalore has now grown to impact over 200 schools nationwide. Through resilience, innovation, and a commitment to education, Mantra has created a replicable model that is being adopted by various organizations. As an ecosystem builder, Mantra is not just scaling operations but empowering a network of change makers to transform education. The journey from idea to impactful intervention is a testament to the spirit of entrepreneurship and collaboration that defines Mantra4Change.

About Our Co-founder and Director:
Khushboo Awasthi (March 2013 – Present)
After completing her engineering, Khushboo worked with Wipro and Honeywell for 3 years. In 2010, she joined TISS, Mumbai to complete her Master’s Programme in Healthcare Administration. Post her M.A, she worked as Product Manager at Practo, where she led the design & development of various healthcare software products. She has also led the teleradiology team at Narayana Health (formerly Hrudayalaya) for 1.5 years before getting full-time into Mantra in September 2015. In 2013, while working at Practo, Khushboo co-founded Mantra Social services with a vision of making quality education accessible to all students irrespective of their socio-economic status. She currently also serves as the COO of ShikshaLokam.

Santosh More (March 2013 – Present)
Santosh worked with Infosys Technologies for 2.5 years after completing his Engineering. In 2009, he joined the 2-year Teach for India fellowship, where he taught Grade 2 students in a Govt.-run school for 2 years. Post his fellowship, Santosh joined Janaagraha and worked as Program Manager for 2.5 years, where he led the national level ‘Jaagte Raho’ campaign for Voter awareness. While working at Janaagraha, Santosh co-founded Mantra Social Services (Mantra4Change) in March 2013 with a vision to help under-resourced schools provide quality education. Since June 2014, Santosh has been working with Mantra in a full-time capacity.

Mantra 4 Change with a vision “Every Child receives an enriching learning experiences”.

With a mission “Enabling education leaders to drive sustainable and continuous improvements across 150000 Schools by 2025”.

Key Impact Area(s):
Our initiatives are creating lasting change in challenging regions, from improving schools in Punjab to building strong educational leadership in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. We’re enhancing student outcomes in Andhra Pradesh, integrating PTM data in Telangana, and fostering collaboration in Odisha. Additionally, DIETs in North Karnataka are adopting peer learning spaces for growth.

Network & Reach:
Mantra4Change was founded by Khushboo and Santosh, inspired by a shared commitment to social change. M4C is looking at transformation in our Public School System through a School Transformation and Empowerment Project (STEP) which has 3 pillars –
Inspire - Nurture the education ecosystem to amplify the focus on school improvement by enabling civil society organizations through and incubation program call EdMentum.
Enable - Partner with State Education organizations e.g SCERT, DIET to co-create solutions aimed at improving school level practices in a holistic manner and
Transform - building solutions that address the functioning of schools by providing an array of programs such as Teacher Support, School Leadership development, community engagement through Parent-Teacher Meets, Resource Center Revivals & setting up Learning Spaces at Home

Programs and Interventions:
Enabling Systemic Education Transformation in Bihar - Strengthening District Institution of Education & Training (DIETs) and Other Instructional leaders of Teacher Education Institutions and enabling Head Teacher’s (HTs) leadership development programs through Micro-Improvement projects leveraging technology, and integrating Project-Based Learning (PBL) to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes, all through the strategic use of technology.

Current Projects:
MOU signed with Nikunj P Jhaveri Mumbai for the period 1st June 2024 to April 2022 to 31st May 2025 for value of INR 13 Lakhs this is a credit line MOU.

Ongoing Projects:
M4C is currently working across the States of Punjab (19000 schools), Bihar (69,000 schools), UP (135,000 schools), Karnataka (48000 schools, Telangana (26800 schools), Andhra Pradesh (108 schools) and Odisha (1700 schools).

Project Impact:
With a dedicated team 24 member Program & Project Lead
1. An invested and engaged school community - set up 22,397 learning spaces in Tumkur District. Resulted in PTM attendance of 80% in the clusters.
2. Creating Education leaders

      In Bihar:

• Over 70,000 Headmasters (HMs) have successfully implemented improvement initiatives in their schools. These initiatives range from reading-focused projects to Parent-Teacher Meetings (PTMs) and the introduction of innovative pedagogical practices.
• The state established a structured review process through monthly review meetings for Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs), driven by assessment data, ensuring accountability and progress.
• Project-Based Learning (PBL) initiatives were implemented in partnership with Community-Based Organizations, encouraging collective action across schools.
• Early successes with District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) in Bihar contributed to the national District Empowerment Program led by NCERT.

      In Punjab:

• A collective effort between four organizations—Mantra4Change, Sanjhi Sikhiya, Samarthya, and ShikshaLokam—played a critical role in Punjab’s rise from being one of the lowest-performing states in the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2017 to securing the top rank across all grades in NAS 2021.
• Punjab’s Performance Grading Index (PGI) ranking improved from 13th in 2018 to 1st in 2019, highlighting a significant turnaround in educational outcomes.

      In Uttar Pradesh (UP):

• 1,34,181 school leaders have completed professional development courses covering key themes such as teacher motivation and community engagement, followed by the successful implementation of these learnings in schools.
• 50 Block Education Officers (BEOs) developed and implemented Block Development Plans focused on foundational literacy and numeracy.

Geographic Focus:
Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana.

Annual Operating Budget:
An annual operating spend of approx. Inr 27 crore per annum.

Partners:
Shibulal Family Philanthropy, Education Above All, Tech Mahindra Foundation, Ford Foundation, Wells Fargo International Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Advaith Foundation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., DHL Logistics Pvt. Ltd., Axis Bank Pvt Ltd.

Helm Involvement: Nikunj has been associated since April 2022 as part of the Advisory Board.