Anita Kroo

A visionary Indian social entrepreneur who pioneered scalable education models for marginalized communities

Anita Kroo (b.1975) revolutionized education access in rural India through her innovative 'School-in-a-Box' concept launched in 1999. Growing up in a low-income family in Mumbai, her early experiences inspired the creation of Pratham Education Foundation, which has impacted over 50 million children. Her 2003 'Teach to Learn' program mobilized 1 million volunteers to tutor students in foundational literacy skills.

Kroo's data-driven approach led to the groundbreaking Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), the world's largest citizen-led assessment. This tool exposed systemic gaps in India's education system, influencing government policy reforms. Her 2008 partnership with Harvard's Kennedy School developed the 'Reading India' initiative, which trained 10,000 teachers in evidence-based methods.

In 2015, she introduced the 'Mobile Learning Lab' concept using solar-powered tablets, reaching 200,000 children in remote areas. Kroo's collaboration with MIT's Media Lab produced the 'Karnataka Model', a low-cost school infrastructure system adopted by 12 states. Her 2020 book Building Schools, Not Walls (hyperlink: Amazon) outlines her philosophy of education as a human right.

Recipient of the Schwab Foundation's Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2012), her work inspired similar initiatives in Bangladesh and Nepal. Kroo's TED Talk 'Education Without Boundaries' (hyperlink: TED) has been translated into 15 languages. Her legacy continues through the Kroo Global Fellowship program training educators in 18 countries.