An architect by training, Sourav Banerjee, Vice President for Learning and Innovation at Room to Read, has spent decades working across government, donor organization and international non-profit, with a focus on improving foundational learning and expanding opportunities for children.
His journey into the social sector was not originally planned as a career shift. It began with an assignment to design school buildings for rural schools in Uttar Pradesh under a World Bank project. Visiting villages and seeing the condition of schools changed the way Sourav viewed education and eventually led him towards a career focused on improving public education.
When Architecture Led To A Larger Question
Trained as an architect, Sourav Banerjee had spent around four years working in the field before encountering rural education through the school-building project. What he saw in villages was strikingly different from his experience growing up in a city.
The poor condition of schools and the fact that many children were not learning as expected made him look beyond infrastructure. The experience sparked an interest in education development and, more broadly, the social sector.
That interest led him to working for the Ministry of Education, Government of India, where he took on a role connected to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the government’s flagship programme aimed at universalising primary education. Initially, his responsibilities centred around the programme’s civil works component, including school construction and design across states.
Working within the larger education programme, however, exposed Sourav to questions that went beyond buildings.
He became increasingly interested in how children were learning, what was happening inside classrooms and why access to infrastructure alone could not guarantee meaningful learning outcomes.
From Government To Global Development
Sourav ’s work later took him to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where he worked for six years, leading its education and skills-development portfolio in India.
The experience gave him exposure to a wider international conversation around education, including the growing focus on foundational literacy and the concern that children were progressing through school without acquiring basic reading skills.
Being involved in meetings and discussions around foundational learning strengthened his interest in the issue.
In 2012, Sourav joined Room to Read as Programme Director. Three years later, he became Country Director for Room to Read India, a position he held from 2015 to 2023. During this period, he worked on expanding the organisation’s programmes and building partnerships with governments across India.
According to his account, Room to Read India experienced substantial growth during these years, with its budget increasing threefold, staff doubling, and the organization being recognized as a key thought leader in the field of foundational literacy. .
In 2023, Sourav s role expanded globally. He currently serves as Vice President for Learning and Innovation, working on identifying, compiling and disseminating learnings across Room to Read’s programmes across 29 different countries.
Building A Culture Of Reading And Learning
Room to Read’s work has evolved considerably since its founding in 2000. The organisation initially focused on libraries, but its experience showed that many children lacked the foundational reading and writing skills needed to benefit from them.
Its literacy work therefore combines literacy instruction with libraries and book publishing.
Teachers are trained to teach children how to read and write, while libraries are used to encourage a sustained habit of reading. The organisation also develops original children’s books for its libraries and works with publishers to strengthen the wider children’s book ecosystem.
The second major area is girls’ education. While the programme began as a scholarship-based initiative for girls, its current approach focuses more broadly on adolescents and life skills. The objective is to equip young people with skills that can help them navigate barriers to education and make informed choices in their lives.
Working Beyond One Organisation
Room to Read operates globally, with major country operations across South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa, alongside partnerships and smaller-scale operations in other countries.
Its structure includes programme design and evaluation, programme operations, finance, people operations, fundraising and resource mobilisation. The organisation is largely privately funded, with support coming from individuals, foundations, corporate foundations and other private sources.
For its education work, partnerships are equally important.
The challenges facing foundational learning are too large for one organisation to address alone. Sourav describes collaboration with governments and other organisations as an important part of Room to Read’s approach, including work around policy advocacy, programme implementation and learning.
The Challenge Of Foundational Learning
Despite progress, foundational learning remains a major challenge.
A significant number of children globally continue to struggle with reading and writing at the level expected for their age. Sourav points to India as part of this wider challenge, while noting the increased policy focus on foundational literacy and numeracy following the National Education Policy.
For him, the issue is not one that can be solved by a single organisation. It requires collective action across the education sector.
The same applies to girls’ education, where social and societal barriers can continue to affect children’s education journeys.
Carrying Architecture Into Education
Despite moving far from architecture, Sourav says the discipline continues to influence his thinking.
Architecture taught him to balance science and art, aesthetics and functionality. That idea of balance remains something he carries into his work even today.
His professional journey has moved through architecture, government, international development and nonprofit education, but the underlying question has remained connected to how systems can create better opportunities for children.
From designing rural school buildings to working on national education programmes and eventually shaping learning across a global organisation, Sourav Banerjee’s career reflects a gradual shift from building educational spaces to understanding what makes those spaces meaningful.
The Logical Indian Perspective
Education is not only about providing access to schools. It also involves ensuring that children develop the foundational skills, confidence and opportunities needed to learn effectively.
Sourav Banerjee’s journey through architecture, government and international development illustrates how professional experiences can shape a long-term commitment to learning. His work at Room to Read places foundational literacy, reading habits, girls’ education, life skills and collaboration at the centre of that effort.
The larger challenge remains significant, but his approach highlights an important principle: improving education requires not only programmes and infrastructure, but sustained partnerships and a focus on what children are actually learning.
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