How a Govt School With Coding Labs & Student Parliaments Became a Model for 3700 MP Schools

On most mornings in Indore’s Sandipani Naveen Malav Kanya School, the assembly ground feels like a small town square. A group of girls steps forward to lead the prayer, read the news, and invite classmates to share what they learnt. In a nearby classroom, students form a neat queue outside the computer lab, ready to create stories, small games, and animations on their tablets.

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This school has become the preferred choice for families in the constituency. It is not a private institution with high fees. It is a government school that parents now trust for its approach to learning.

At the centre of this shift is Ramkrishna Kori, the school’s principal. He remembers a time when new methods made him uneasy. “I come from a very traditional background. I had always followed the conventional way,” he says. Textbooks and blackboards shaped his routines, and ideas about digital learning, student leadership, and project-based activities felt unfamiliar.

Everything began to change when Sandipani School partnered with Peepul Foundation, an organisation working to strengthen public education systems. The collaboration introduced new habits, new tools, and new ways of thinking. In 2025, the school’s journey received national recognition through the FICCI ARISE Excellence Award. 

For Kori, it felt like confirmation that something meaningful had taken root. It showed him how much a government school can achieve when teachers feel supported, and children are encouraged to explore.

How these kids found their way back to curiosity

The foundations of this change go back to 2015, when Peepul began its work in public education. Through their research, one pattern kept surfacing. The country had improved enrolment, but inside many classrooms, learning still felt distant.

“We had understood from our research that, as a country, we have enrolled children into school. Despite that, we don't see engagement in the classrooms,” says Urmila Chowdhury, co-founder and education director at Peepul. “The problem of access had been solved, but the problem of quality remained a big challenge.”

Peepul began by strengthening foundational learning in Delhi municipal schools. But the pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt. Schools closed, and learning moved abruptly into homes. To stay connected with children, Peepul and its partner organisations distributed tablets with pre-loaded content and paid data packs.

When schools reopened, teachers found themselves facing a new question: how to make digital learning meaningful when many children had never used a computer before?

This led to the creation of a digital literacy curriculum designed specifically for students with little or no exposure to technology outside school. “We created a curriculum with three components: block-based programming, digital safety, and basic digital literacy,” says Urmila. “These are children who don't have access to computers at home. We could provide this in school.”

The programme introduced technology in a way that felt approachable and exciting, not intimidating.

When learning spills into everyday life

The digital literacy programme soon became a strong anchor, but Peepul’s work extended far beyond it. Their goal was to help children think clearly, express themselves, and collaborate with confidence. Shubham Singh, the programme manager, describes this as preparing “future-ready” students equipped with critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication.

This idea took shape through a range of activities woven into school life.

One of the most loved is ‘Bal Sansad’ (children’s parliament), a state-led initiative that Sandipani School implements with enthusiasm. Students campaign, run elections, and take up roles in a parliament that mirrors real-world processes. They learn responsibility by practising it.

Another cornerstone is ‘Srijan’, a state-run programme that Peepul supports. Here, students showcase their science models, artwork, and coding projects to parents and community members. It becomes an evening of pride for families who often see their children presenting ideas for the first time. “The idea was that parents would come to the school and see what and how their kids are learning,” says Shubham.

The school also runs ‘Anand Sabha’, a government-led “happiness assembly” that encourages emotional awareness and stronger family relationships. These sessions help children slow down, reflect, and understand themselves.

“The focus isn’t only on coding,” Shubham adds. “These events bring parents in, keep students excited, and encourage them to show up consistently. They’ve become a real pull for the school.”

Together, these activities create a school environment where attendance improves, involvement deepens, and children feel that the school belongs to them.

When teachers lead the change

For Kori, the partnership’s early days felt uncertain. Digital tools, new routines, and unfamiliar teaching models seemed difficult to integrate. The turning point came during Peepul’s training sessions and through their detailed handbooks.

“Once we went through Peepul’s training, I realised how much better things could be. Slowly, my mindset changed,” Kori shares. His staff experienced a similar shift. Teachers who were initially hesitant began to embrace the changes as they saw their students respond.

Shubham explains the philosophy behind their work. “Our focus was to strengthen government systems, not create parallel ones.” Every school was treated as a collaborator. “We wanted to build capacity within the existing ecosystem so that schools could sustain quality on their own. Every workshop, every training session was about empowering teachers to lead change from within.”

This leadership is easy to see today. Sandipani School has committees dedicated to academics, libraries, wellness, discipline, and more. These committees consist of teachers and students who share responsibilities, maintain their own data, and help new teachers settle in quickly.

Students feel the difference too. “Earlier, attendance was irregular, and student confidence was low,” says Kori. “But once we started engaging parents and focusing on each child’s development, we saw a big change. The students are now more regular and confident, and they even motivate their parents.”

Learning now extends far beyond the syllabus. Senior students explore entrepreneurship through ‘Tejashvi Karyakram’, a state-led initiative. Morning assemblies, led by different classes each week, give children regular opportunities to speak without hesitation.

“Every morning, we have a 20-minute assembly,” Kori says. “It helps students overcome stage fear and learn to express themselves. Even on holidays, students insist on coming to school, and their parents say the kids don’t want a break.”

Measuring impact beyond report cards

The transformation is easy to feel in the corridors, but it is equally clear in the data.

In Madhya Pradesh, where many students had never used a computer, the programme moved from zero exposure to 70% of students confidently creating coding projects on ‘Scratch’, a child-friendly coding platform that uses visual blocks instead of text.

More than 400 students participated in the ‘Hour of Code’ event, and one student from a rural school in Sagar placed 39th worldwide at the International Kids Coding Championship.

What began as a 100-school pilot has now expanded, with the state implementing the programme in more than 3,700 schools across Madhya Pradesh.

Teachers have grown alongside students. “When we started, only around 3% of teachers were aware of block-based coding. After two years, the average score in our teacher assessment is about 70%,” says Shubham.

Preparing kids for the real world

Some of the strongest signs of progress appear in the beliefs of parents, students, and community members.

Families who once viewed government schools with doubt now attend assessment events with pride. They watch their children explain coding projects and create what they describe as “magic” on tablets. These moments shift long-held perceptions.

For Kori, future-readiness appears in simple but telling ways. Local leaders, including MLAs, now call him asking for admission seats. For him, these calls reflect a change in how the community sees the potential of public schools.

Future-readiness, he believes, is not limited to coding skills. It is a mindset built on curiosity, agency, and confidence.

Urmila puts it clearly. “When you believe that every child in a government school deserves the same quality of education as any private school student, your actions start aligning with that belief. That’s when change truly begins.”

Shubham shares a similar hope. He wants students to grow with the belief that opportunities are within reach. The aim, he says, is to create students “who believe in themselves, who think the sky is the limit.”

How one government school became a model for others

Sandipani does not announce its transformation. You see it only when you spend time inside. Teachers discuss ideas instead of hurdles. Students walk into the computer lab with an ease they did not have a few years ago. Parents stop by simply to understand what their children are doing.

Peepul remains in the background — in exactly the way the model intends. The routines now run on the strength of the people inside the building.

Kori sees the difference in the texture of an ordinary day. Assemblies start on time. Committees share updates without reminders. Children speak more freely.

It feels like a school that found its rhythm one steady change at a time, held together by teachers who trusted the process and children who ran with every new opportunity.

And that, more than any award, tells the real story of what this school has become.

All images from Peepul Foundation