The Association for Reinventing School Education (ARISE) convened its Members’ Meeting at Varanasi recently where it announced the new Company Board, Governing Body and State Councils for FY 2026–27. A key highlight of the meeting was the Presidential Baton Passing Ceremony with Dr. Arunabh Singh, Director, Nehru World School & Co-founder, Heathy Planet TGA being elected as the next president. He will take over from Mr. Praveen Raju, Founder, Suchitra Academy and Sagebrook International School, Hyderabad.
The newly constituted State Councils for the year FY 2026-27 are as follows:
- Andhra Pradesh: Chair — M. Padma Subrahmanyam; Co-Chair — Mahadev Vasireddy
- Assam: Chair — Nellie Ahmed
- Bihar: Chair — Mrigya Singh
- Gujarat: Chair — Kavish Gadia; Co-Chair — Kush Dinesh Sakaria
- Haryana: Chair — Aditi Misra; Co-Chair — Yash Prakash
- Jammu & Kashmir: Chair — Nandan Kuthiala
- Karnataka: Chair — Srinivas Kumar Chalasani
- Madhya Pradesh: Chair — Siddharth Singh Girnar
- Maharashtra: Chair — Irshad Patel; Co-Chair — Shailesh Dalmia
- New Delhi: Chair — Rahul Aggarwal; Co-Chair — Jyoti Arora
- Odisha: Chair — Dr. Silpi Sahoo
- Punjab: Chair — Manjot Dhillon; Co-Chair — Robin Aggarwal
- Chandigarh: Chair — Gurpreet Bakshi
- Rajasthan: Chair — Ragini Kachhwaha; Co-Chair — Deepak Sharma
- Uttar Pradesh: Chair — Shalini Singh; Co-Chair — Khwaja Saifi Yunus
- Uttarakhand: Chair — Bharat Goyal; Co-Chair — Manoj Kumar Khera
- Telangana: Chair — Meghana Jupally; Co-Chair — Satya Datla
- Tamil Nadu: Chair — Vikram Ramakrishnan; Co-Chair — R. J. Thayumanaswamy
- West Bengal: Chair — Pradip Kumar Agarwal
- Kerala: Chair — Rajesh George Kulangara
These councils will play a critical role in strengthening ARISE’s state-level engagement, regional initiatives, and policy dialogue across the country. ARISE was incepted within FICCI a decade ago and is now an independent body of some progressive high end private schools.
The group of founders and leaders of these schools from across India met for two days in Varanasi to chalk out future course while deliberating on the current activities. The ceremony also recognized members for their contributions to ARISE initiatives, underscoring the organization’s participatory ethos.
Day One commenced with a Special Address by Dr. Joseph Emmanuel, Chief Executive and Secretary, CISCE, who highlighted the transformative potential of collective leadership in education. ‘’When progressive schools come together with shared purpose and collective strength, they can transform the school education landscape in phenomenal ways. Platforms like ARISE enable collaboration and systemic progress that individual institutions cannot achieve in isolation,” said Dr. Emmanuel.
The engagement was also graced by Dr. Praggya M Singh, Professor & Director (Academics), CBSE. “Strengthening school education requires a sustained focus on academic quality, capacity building, and effective implementation at the institutional level. Interactions with school leaders provide valuable ground-level insights into classroom realities and emerging needs, which are essential for shaping responsive academic initiatives,” said Ms. Singh.
There was also representation from international boards including Mr. Mahesh Balakrishnan, Manager, South Asia, International Baccalaureate (IB) and Mr. Vinay Sharma, Senior Vice President and Regional Director, South Asia, Cambridge International Education reflecting the broad spectrum of institutional engagement across national and global school education frameworks.
The meeting featured expert inputs and structured discussions on leadership effectiveness, institutional governance, and emerging priorities for the sector.
Day Two focused on ARISE’s forward roadmap, including key initiatives to strengthen member engagement and knowledge exchange. Members participated in focused deliberations on Learning & Development and Liberalising the K-12 sector, addressing leadership capacity building, professional development, regulatory challenges, and policy priorities to identify actionable advocacy areas for 2026–27.
An expert session on the Decoding of New Labour Codes provided practical guidance on interpretation, compliance requirements, and operational implications for educational institutions.
Outgoing President Mr. Praveen Raju, reflecting on ARISE’s institutional growth said,“Over the past two years as an independent institution, ARISE has grown significantly — institutionally, structurally, and in membership — emerging as a credible and unified national platform for progressive school leaders. The trust and spirit of collaboration among members remain the foundation of this journey,” he said.
President-Elect Dr. Arunabh Singh, added, ‘’ARISE represents the collective voice of progressive schools across the country. Going forward, our focus will be on strengthening collaboration, advancing policy engagement, and building future-ready institutions that place students at the centre.”
