Pankaj Vinayak Sharma, CEO and Co-Founder of Transform Schools and an Aspire Circle Fellow, spearheaded “The Pivot 2025” event in New Delhi on October 23, 2025, to redefine secondary education through data-driven insights.

With over 25 years in social impact, Sharma’s organisation has reached 10.6 million students across eight Indian states, partnering with governments in Odisha, Karnataka, and beyond to bridge learning gaps via evidence-based programmes like Transform Learning.

Stakeholders, including educators, researchers, policymakers, and funders, hailed the event’s focus on scalable solutions, with Sharma emphasising collaboration for equitable outcomes; recent J-PAL RCTs confirm up to 1.5 years of learning gains in under 50 hours.

The Pivot 2025: Catalysing Systemic Change

Held at the India Habitat Centre, “The Pivot 2025” under the theme “Learn, Shift, Act” gathered over 200 leaders from education ecosystems to address adolescent learning crises in government schools.

Transform Schools presented fresh research showing improved teaching performance and equitable access, with programmes like Marusinchana in Karnataka scaling statewide for 2025-26 to reach 2 million students in 27,000 schools.

Sharma stated, “Our mission is to design solutions that are effective, inclusive, and built to scale, ensuring every child realises their full potential.”

Officials from state education departments praised the low-stakes assessments and teacher training, noting their role in policy shifts; partners like People For Action and The Transform Trust highlighted impacts on 34,000 teachers and 8,500 schools in Odisha alone.​

Vital statistics underscore the scale: Transform Learning, delivered by trained government teachers over 200+ hours, has boosted competencies for 118,882 educators and management for 76,147 schools, per independent evaluations.

The programme’s RCT by J-PAL South Asia validates gains across performance levels, extending beyond curricula to life skills.

Humanising the effort, Sharma’s journey from IIT Kharagpur volunteer to leading post-COVID adaptations reflects dedication; one collaborator noted, “Pankaj’s strategic oversight turns data into action for rural children often left behind.” This event builds on prior milestones, like WISE Awards shortlisting, positioning Transform Schools as a force in secondary reform.

Leadership Legacy: Sharma’s 25-Year Odyssey

Pankaj Vinayak Sharma’s career spans international development in education, health, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, child rights, and humanitarian aid, with roles at CARE, Project Concern International, and as Country Head of Kusuma Foundation until 2018.

Holding a Master’s in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences and a Health and Human Rights certificate from University of Heidelberg, he shifted from corporate paths to co-found Transform Schools in 2019 amid India’s secondary learning crisis.

Early inspirations like Pratham’s Teaching at the Right Level shaped his focus on accelerated models, evolving a small team into a Delhi-London entity impacting 9.1 million children annually across 68,000 schools.​

Key achievements include Odisha’s statewide rollout since 2019, reaching 2.3 million students; Karnataka’s Marusinchana pilot success leading to 2025 expansion; and programmes like Transform PARity, Critical Thinking, and Tech-Accelerated Learning.

Amid COVID-19, Transform Schools supplied competency-based resources, sustaining momentum. Awards such as ICC Social Impact (2020-2021) and WISE Finalist 2023 affirm rigour; Sharma’s Aspire Circle Fellowship enhances global networks.

His ethos collaboration over silos has forged public-private ties, with 5.6 million children gaining better career access yearly.​

Stakeholder perspectives enrich the narrative: State officials credit data insights for nuanced interventions; funders like Kusuma Trust UK laud scalability; teachers report empowered classrooms. Sharma’s LinkedIn profile details 25+ years, reinforcing his thought leadership at forums like Skoll World Forum 2024.

This foundation precedes Pivot 2025, where research spotlights persistent gaps post-primary progress, urging “significant gains for large populations.” Recent Society Achievers 2025 recognition celebrates his school leader empowerment.

Transform Schools’ Expanding Footprint and Challenges

Founded via People For Action (registered 2018) and The Transform Trust, Transform Schools targets secondary gaps where foundational gains fade, embedding assessments, instruction, and digital tools in public systems.

Operations span Odisha (all 30 districts), Karnataka, Tripura, West Bengal, Telangana, with ambitions in more states; annual reach hits 2.4 million via 9,950 schools, per milestones. Programmes like Back to School and Science Capital address equity, with internal/external monitoring ensuring transparency, though formal policies evolve.​

Pre-Pivot context includes 2024 Skoll event on investment power and May 2025 posts on scaling for millions. Post-event, Karnataka’s statewide push signals momentum; challenges like rural exclusion persist, met via teacher-led models.

Broader relevance: India’s 250 million+ adolescents face learning poverty, per global data; Transform’s 10 million+ touchpoints via grants and CSR combat this. Officials’ endorsements, like Karnataka’s adoption, validate; Sharma’s prior Kusuma role seeded models now national.​

Historical incidents: Post-2019 inception, rapid Odisha scaling amid pandemics; 2023 WISE nod boosted credibility. Following Pivot, expect policy integrations, as J-PAL evidence sways governments. Community voices from rural teachers to urban funders highlight inclusivity; one update notes 9.1 million cumulative impacts. This trajectory enhances reader understanding of sustained, adaptive reform amid India’s education paradoxes.

Deeper Dive: Programmes, Evidence, and Scalability

Transform Learning’s core 200-hour competency focus yields RCT-proven gains, benefiting all performers; continuous assessments ensure fidelity.

Transform Teaching hones 118,882 educators; PARity promotes gender equity. Tech integration accelerates rural delivery, while Critical Thinking fosters future-ready skills. Karnataka’s Marusinchana: scripted, time-bound, teacher-delivered, now statewide post-pilot.​

Evidence base: J-PAL RCTs, EI assessments; internal metrics track systemic shifts. Scalability via state partnerships: Odisha’s 2.3 million benchmark; total 10.6 million via 68,000 schools.

CSR and grants fuel growth; London arm aids global learnings. Challenges: Sustaining post-pilot quality, rural logistics addressed via low-cost, embedded models.

The Logical Indian’s Perspective

The Logical Indian celebrates Pankaj Vinayak Sharma’s unwavering commitment to education as a cornerstone of peace, empathy, and coexistence, transforming lives through inclusive, scalable reforms that uplift millions of adolescents.

In a nation striving for harmony amid diversity, his data-driven dialogue between governments, teachers, and communities exemplifies kindness in action, fostering social change that equips youth for shared prosperity. By prioritising equity over elitism, Transform Schools inspires collective responsibility. How might readers through advocacy, volunteering, or policy support amplify these efforts to build an education system rooted in empathy and opportunity for every child?

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