CII Schools’ Forum: A National Platform for Collective Growth in School Education

The Confederation of Indian Industry formally launched the CII Schools’ Forum, a unified institutional platform for schools across India on 20 August 2025, during the 9th CII National School Education Summit in New Delhi. This initiative is led by Ms Meenakkshi Singh, Pro Vice Chairperson of DPS Sushant Lok as the Chair and Ms Shivika Goenka, Founder of RPGIS Kolkata as the Co-Chair.

The launch reflected a growing realisation within the education community: while schools across the country face similar transitions and pressures, they often navigate them independently. The implementation of NEP 2020, curriculum and assessment reforms, increasing focus on student and teacher well-being, rising parental expectations, technological disruption, and regulatory complexity have collectively reshaped the operating landscape. Yet structured avenues for collaboration, shared learning and system-level engagement have remained limited.

The CII Schools’ Forum has been created to address this gap. It is designed as a national association of schools that brings together school owners, principals and administrators on a common platform for collaboration, policy dialogue and institutional strengthening.

At its core, the Forum follows a balanced two-fold approach.

First, structured policy engagement: Schools are central stakeholders in India’s education reform journey, but their voices are often dispersed. The Forum provides a credible mechanism for collective representation on sector-wide issues impacting school education. Through consultations, research-led engagements and stakeholder discussions, it aims to generate evidence-based insights that can inform dialogue with Central and State Governments. The focus is not on individual institutional concerns, but on broader regulatory, curricular and governance matters that shape the ecosystem. In alignment with NEP 2020, the Forum seeks to ensure that schools are active contributors to reform conversations.

Second, sectoral upliftment and professional development: Beyond advocacy, the Forum is equally committed to strengthening the internal capacities of schools. It supports professional development for educators, leadership development for principals and management teams, and improved practices in curriculum, assessment, administration and governance. Through thematic leadership forums, peer-learning platforms, curated roundtables, research publications and exposure visits, member schools can exchange best practices and collaboratively address shared challenges.

A key strength of the Forum lies in CII’s extensive industry network and national presence. By leveraging this ecosystem, the Forum facilitates stronger school-socity-industry linkages, particularly in areas such as vocational education, skill development, and digital readiness. This alignment ensures that school education remains responsive to India’s evolving workforce and development priorities.

Created as a long-term initiative under CII’s Education Department, the CII Schools’ Forum will, in the coming years, undertake educator capacity-building programmes, leadership competitions, knowledge initiatives and partnerships with national and global institutions. It also aims to conduct stakeholder surveys and research studies to generate structured policy recommendations rooted in field realities.

As India advances towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, strengthening school education is foundational to building a future-ready generation. The CII Schools’ Forum represents a shift from isolated institutional functioning to organised, collective leadership. It creates a space where schools can collaborate rather than compete in silos, influence reform rather than merely adapt to it, and continuously upgrade their institutional capabilities.

Schools across India are invited to join the CII Schools’ Forum and be part of a national platform committed to elevating the quality, relevance and impact of school education in the years ahead.