Day One commenced with a Special Address by Dr. Joseph Emmanuel, Chief Executive and Secretary of CISCE, who highlighted the transformative potential of collective leadership in education, stating that when progressive schools unite with shared purpose and collective strength, they can transform the school education landscape in phenomenal ways, as platforms like ARISE enable collaboration and systemic progress that individual institutions cannot achieve in isolation. The engagement was further graced by Dr. Praggya M Singh, Professor & Director (Academics), CBSE, who emphasized that strengthening school education requires a sustained focus on academic quality, capacity building, and effective implementation at the institutional level, noting that interactions with school leaders provide the ground-level insights into classroom realities essential for shaping responsive academic initiatives. International representation included 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 a broad spectrum of engagement across national and global frameworks.
The meeting featured expert inputs and structured discussions regarding leadership effectiveness, institutional governance, and emerging priorities for the sector. Day Two shifted focus to ARISE’s forward roadmap, including key initiatives to strengthen member engagement and knowledge exchange. Members participated in 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. Furthermore, an expert session on the Decoding of New Labour Codes provided practical guidance on interpretation, compliance requirements, and operational implications for educational institutions.
A pivotal highlight was the Presidential Baton Passing Ceremony, where the new Company Board, Governing Body, and State Councils for FY 2026–27 were announced. The newly constituted State Councils include M. Padma Subrahmanyam as Chair and Mahadev Vasireddy as Co-Chair for Andhra Pradesh; Nellie Ahmed as Chair for Assam; Mrigya Singh as Chair for Bihar; Kavish Gadia as Chair for Gujarat with Co-Chair Kush Dinesh Sakaria; Aditi Misra as Chair for Haryana with Co-Chair Yash Prakash; Nandan Kuthiala as Chair for Jammu & Kashmir; Srinivas Kumar Chalasani as Chair for Karnataka; Siddharth Singh Girnar as Chair for Madhya Pradesh; Irshad Patel as Chair for Maharashtra with Co-Chair Shailesh Dalmia; Rahul Aggarwal as Chair for New Delhi with Co-Chair Jyoti Arora; Dr. Silpi Sahoo as Chair for Odisha; Manjot Dhillon as Chair for Punjab with Co-Chair Robin Aggarwal; Gurpreet Bakshi as Chair for Chandigarh; Ragini Kachhwaha as Chair for Rajasthan with Co-Chair Deepak Sharma; Shalini Singh as Chair for Uttar Pradesh with Co-Chair Khwaja Saifi Yunus; Bharat Goyal as Chair for Uttarakhand with Co-Chair Manoj Kumar Khera; Meghana Jupally as Chair for Telangana with Co-Chair Satya Datla; Vikram Ramakrishnan as Chair for Tamil Nadu with Co-Chair R. J. Thayumanaswamy; Pradip Kumar Agarwal as Chair for West Bengal; and Rajesh George Kulangara as Chair for Kerala. These councils are designated to play a critical role in strengthening state-level engagement and policy dialogue.
Outgoing President Mr. Praveen Raju, Founder of Suchitra Academy and Sagebrook International School, reflected on ARISE’s institutional growth, noting its emergence as a credible and unified national platform grounded in collaboration. President-Elect Dr. Arunabh Singh, Director of Nehru World School and Co-founder of Heathy Planet TGA, emphasized continuity, stating that ARISE represents the collective voice of progressive schools and will focus on strengthening collaboration and building future-ready, student-centric institutions. The ceremony also recognized members for their contributions, underscoring the organization’s participatory ethos.
The Members’ Meeting concluded with a shared commitment to advancing reform-oriented dialogue and shaping the future of Indian school education. ARISE, an autonomous body representing over 1,800 schools, 95,000 teachers, and 1.5 million students, continues to serve as a collaborative platform for school founders, policymakers, and experts dedicated to the motto ‘Student First’ within the diverse landscape of India’s education system.
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