High Potential Students
India’s school education system serves ~25 crore children*. A significant number of these students possess the potential to become future innovators and leaders of the country. Many of these students come from underserved communities and face systemic gaps in identification and support. With most interventions beginning only after Grade 10, much of this potential remains untapped and underdeveloped.
* Source - UDISE 2023-24
To bridge this gap, CSF is introducing a new workstream in 2025, High Potential Students, to support India’s bright young minds from underprivileged backgrounds in becoming future innovators, researchers and leaders. By 2030, we aim to transform the learning journeys of 1,00,000 students by equipping them with the skills, support and exposure needed to thrive in higher education and high-growth careers. Through this work, we are committed to advancing equity and excellence, empowering young minds from every corner of India to realise their full potential.
Our Three-pronged Approach
CSF is building scalable and replicable models through an evidence-driven approach focused on three core pillars:
Shaping Supply
- Partnering with ecosystem experts to design and deliver high-quality Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) nurturance programmes starting as early as Grade 7.
- Integrating socio-emotional learning to build life skills like resilience, critical thinking, and collaboration.
- Strengthening government capacity to measure impact and scale these interventions.
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Strengthening Institutions
- Aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s focus on early identification and support.
- Embedding Programme Management Units (PMUs) within state governments and school systems to scale nurturance, exposure, and scholarship efforts.
- Expanding access to olympiads and prestigious competitions to encourage pursuit of excellence in STEM.
- Supporting the Ministry of Education as part of an expert committee in the design of Mission Dhruv, India’s national programme for gifted students.
Generating Evidence
- Conducting a national landscape study to map existing efforts and identify key levers for support.
- Partnering with model schools and states to generate actionable insights.
- Benchmarking best practices to help government systems effectively nurture high-potential students.
- Ensuring that academic talent across backgrounds can succeed in higher education and access high-growth careers.