Name: Harishchandra Bobade

Occupation: School Principal

Location: Korpana, Chandrapur, Maharashtra

Age: 56

Education; Diploma in Education

Harishchandra comes from a farming family, but from the time he first set foot in a classroom, he has had a passion for Education.

A teacher for 21 years, Harishchandra, who hails from a tribal background, became a Headmaster in 2006 where, under the guidance of Ambuja Foundation, he saw first-hand, the transformative impact of getting his school ISO Certified.

"The school at Verul was very backward and run down. Our numbers were plummeting as children dropped out, and parents sent their children to private schools with better facilities and teaching methodologies." he said.

"By pursuing ISO Accreditation with the help of Ambuja Foundation, we were able to turn the situation around - improving facilities like toilets, school playgrounds and classrooms, and training teachers in more progressive teaching techniques such as e-learning." Mr. Bobade said.

Fueled by the progress he saw and the process he learnt from Ambuja Foundation, he started introducing other innovations in the school - visiting renowned private schools and getting ideas to introduce at his school. For example, he saw that in one school they had clubbed an Anganwadi into the school - creating a seamless transition for children from Anganwadi to Primary School and helping bolster numbers in the process. He decided to do the same at his own school.

Additionally he began recruiting M.Ed and B.Ed qualified teachers to further enhance teaching quality - and the outcomes in the children slowly improved. He developed specialized reports to show the family the progress and improvement of their child, and news of this progress spread throughout the community.

As numbers swelled and education outcomes improved, a fire in Harishchandra's belly was lit. In his 14 year career as the Principal of Government Schools in the Chandrapur District he has driven the ISO accreditation of 3 schools in which he worked, and has guided another 6 Government schools in how to get ISO certified. Today he provides guidance towards Teacher Training on ISO at a block level for a further 24 schools.

"This is my mission in life and I'm passionate about investing time to train both principals and teachers to improve standards to help get ISO Certification" he said.

Impact:

- Personally secured ISO accreditation for 3 schools and guided 6 neighbouring schools

- Training teachers and principals from an additional 24 schools in ISO accreditation