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About Us

Overview

In 2007, Kotak Education Foundation embarked on a mission to empower economically disadvantaged children and youth through a holistic trinity of school education, scholarships and vocational education.

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School Education

School education projects span Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, Communicative English Future Readiness, Digital Learning and 21st-century skills, making students confident and future-ready. Model School and Infrastructure Projects facilitate a safe, healthy, positive learning environment. Teachers are imparted leadership skills and modern teaching techniques, building academic excellence.

Integrally, we aim to build systemic capacity of educators and scalability of student learning outcomes in collaboration with the government and key stakeholders.

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Scholarship

The prestigious Scholarship Project supports deserving students in their academic journey. Kotak Junior Scholarship, effective in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, enables students with excellent SSC scores to complete Class 11 and 12. The Kotak Graduate Scholarship helps high achievers in HSC pursue professional courses, and supports them till graduation. Kotak Kanya Scholarship aids meritorious female undergraduate students across India, in their pursuit of higher education at premier institutions.

These cherished scholarships provide mentoring, academic guidance, career counselling, and equip students with critical thinking abilities for all-round development.

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Vocational Education & Livelihood

Vocational education empowers unemployed youth with domain-specific training and certification in BFSI, Customer Relations & Sales, Hospitality and Advance Beauty. The courses are free of charge and offer professional and life skills, spoken English, personality development, work readiness and 100% placement assistance for a secure career and sustainable livelihood.

Through vocational education and livelihood skills training, KEF strives to mobilise youth towards social and economic progress.

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Vision

Every dream within reach. Pioneering fair and equitable education ecosystems.

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Mission

Our mission is to support children and youth from underprivileged families through different education-based interventions to rise above the poverty line and lead a life of dignity through sustainable processes.

Values

The fundamental beliefs
that inspire and motivate us

Integrity

KEF vows to practise integrity by engaging in mindful and ethical actions that are for the highest good of all

Commitment

KEF has a lifelong commitment to empowering children and youth through education while upholding their dignity and self-worth

Excellence

KEF is dedicated to creating an atmosphere of excellence whereby all processes and practices are delivered with utmost diligence

Executive Committee

Visionaries driving systemic change
through the education ecosystem

Mr. Shivaji Dam

Managing Trustee

The first employee of the Kotak Mahindra Group, Shivaji Dam played an important role in establishing it as one of India’s leading financial institutions.

Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank for nearly eight years, he was instrumental in setting up the life insurance business and establishing a partnership with Old Mutual Limited. He was the first Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance, now known as Kotak Life Insurance.

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Dr. Ganesh Raja

Chief Executive Officer

Ganesh Raja, Chief Executive Officer, Kotak Education Foundation, believes in fostering a growth mindset and driving social impact with empathy and purpose.

Envisaging scalability of student learning outcomes and access to academic and economic opportunity for marginalised children and youth, Ganesh pursues Impact-At-Scale with multiple state governments.

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Ms. Jayasree Ramesh

COO - Education

Jayasree Ramesh, Director and Head of Education Programs and Scholarship, leads for the future. Driven by a deep sense of purpose – to close the opportunity gap and help economically disadvantaged children gain access to quality education and reach their full potential – she joined Kotak Education Foundation six years back.

Digitising pedagogy and integrating technology into every facet of instruction, she is an avid technophile, Fulbright Scholar in International Leadership in Education and a Master of English Literature.

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Project Heads

Experienced professionals and the driving
force behind successful outcomes

Curious learner who is on an exploratory professional journey to enable educational equity. An avid reader, a history buff and a classical music lover. An engineer and a Big4 (PwC) Technology Consultant by qualification, a TFI Fellow, a TEDx speaker.

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Abhijat Bedekar

Strategy, Vocational Education & Livelihood

Passionate educator with three decades of experience. Specialised in early years education for over 10 years. Wide spectrum of roles from teaching, training and curriculum designing to managerial, monitoring and evaluation. Certified NABET assessor, POSH and POCSO trainer.

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Amita Vyas

Capacity Building

Two decades of experience in development sector; expertise in project design, implementation, evaluation; focus - Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, migrant populations, urban communities, public schools. Aritra-Leadership Accelerator Programme certified (IIM-B, Phicus Social Solutions). Special Educator. MSW, MA Psychology (Gold Medal).

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Ankita Yadav

Capacity Building

Woman of substance. Ex-banker wanting to make a larger impact on humanity. Aiding and mentoring the brightest 14+ minds to ensure they complete their education. Over 25 years of experience. Want to build the next generation of passionate, self-reliant youth.

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Arati Kaulgud

Scholarship, Vocational Education & Livelihood

Development sector professional with over 13 years of project management experience. Strongly believe in empowering individuals and communities through education am deeply passionate about advancing female education in underprivileged communities. Postgraduate, Sociology; certified in Public Relations and Counselling. Enthusiastic traveller.

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Arijeeta Basu

Scholarship

Teacher and learner doing his humble bit for education. My passion and studies are in drawing out leadership skills in everyone I meet. M.Ed., SET, PhD with 35 years of work experience in schools, B.Ed. colleges and leadership development.

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Farhiz Panthaky

School Leadership Development, School Coordination Department

An engineer turned development sector professional with a decade of experience. Passionate about envisioning and implementing sustainable strategies in the education sector. Dancing and reading give me joy. I love learning new languages and understanding different cultures.

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Harinee Desikan

Scholarship

Dedicated educator with 15 years of experience in the NGO sector, passionate about empowering students and teachers through English language education, leadership and technology. PGPDM, S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research. Likes to sing. Very organised person.

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Jyoti Poojari

Communicative English Future Readiness

Educator, trainer and content designer. Transforming learning through engaging and effective teaching-learning practices is my passion and life’s work. Bachelor's in Education and Master’s in English with 22 years of work experience in classroom teaching, teacher training and content designing.

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Jyoti Singh

Centralised Content Team

Education practitioner passionate about contributing to the Public Education System of India. Empowering educators of public schools in Gujarat is my current focus. M.Sc., Fulbright Fellow at Pennsylvania State University. Over 18 years experience in the social development sector.

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Khyati Bhatt

Capacity Building

Seasoned IT professional with 12 years experience in IT - Project Management, Security and Audit, Infrastructure. Played a pivotal role in implementing IT systems at IDBI Trusteeship Service Limited, Gati-KWE Pvt Ltd. B.Tech. Computer Science. Committed to delivering excellence.

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Milind Pandey

Information Technology

From mass communication to social development, led groundbreaking initiatives empowering over 2,50,000 underprivileged individuals in 20 states towards sustainable livelihoods, brighter futures. Master’s in Mass Communication. 17 years experience, national and international. Worked with LLF & AIF.

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Mohammad Aamir

Vocational Education & Livelihood

Marketing, Digital Communication and Public Relations strategist; 14 years of passionately driving 100+ key accounts across diverse sectors. Worked with leading PR agencies; Co-founder, Detales Brand Communications. Postgraduate, PR & Corporate Communications (XIC, Mumbai); Master’s, Communications & Journalism (MIT, Pune).

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Priyanka Lillaney

Brand Communication

A passionate advocate for educational equity and empowerment, leveraging innovative approaches to drive meaningful impact in diverse communities over a span of 16 vibrant years. MBA, MSc Physics, B.Ed., a STEM enthusiast, always eager to learn and grow.

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Purbasha Roy

Communicative English Future Readiness, Digital Learning Solutions

My passion lies in primary education, ensuring equal opportunity and quality education for every child, regardless of background. TISS graduate, Master’s in Elementary Education. Over a decade of enhancing the educational experience of primary school teachers and students worldwide.

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Sangita Dandapat

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy

24 years in development sector blending academic rigour with hands-on experience in programme implementation. Led livelihood, parenting, education projects; championed community development, child rights. From rural roots to Master’s in Social Work. Striving for lasting impact & transformation.

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Santosh Dhamale

Model School

Practising purpose-driven M&E approaches since 2002. We translate monitoring, evaluation and research theories into practice to evident social Impact-at-Scale. Studied Statistics and Computer Applications at Raipur University. Worked in both, GO and NGO. Headed the Impact vertical of Educate Girls.

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Santosh Morey

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Assessment

Curious human who likes crafting compelling content and wielding data for impact. At KEF, I collaborate with passionate people to create positive change. PGPDM From SPJIMR; Master’s in English Literature (Mumbai University) with 15 years of work experience.

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Sushant Bhagwat

Capacity Building

People person. Worked in the social sector for nearly three decades. Love contributing to the cause of children and youth. Like to talk yet actively listen; like to train yet learn to grow; like connecting with people yet enjoy solitude.

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Thomas Adaikalam

Volunteering, Engagement, Partnership

Passionate finance professional. MBA, over 15 years experience in delivering top-notch accounting and tax compliance services. Always keen to learn new technologies and contribute to open-source projects. Accounting expertise with forward-looking attitude embracing innovation and collaboration.

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Vaibhav Naikade

Accounts & Finance