House System

Unite. Contribute. Lead.

Formally adopted by the Government of Tamil Nadu · November 2024 · 37,500+ schools

A school-wide governance reform that restructures every government school into smaller peer communities — where every student belongs, has a role, and is accountable to peers. Not a co-curricular add-on. A structural redesign of how schools function from the inside out.

The Problem House System Addressess:

Low Attendance: District daily attendance averages 67%. Students who miss school lose instructional time that is never recovered, compounding gaps year after year.
Teacher burnout and overload: 70% of teachers report burnout from expanding administrative loads. With large class sizes, identifying students who have fallen behind without peer-support structures is practically impossible.
Social exclusion and inequity: Caste-based exclusion is documented in up to 30% of Tamil Nadu schools. Declining female participation in leadership further reduces engagement for the most marginalised.

How it works

Every student is randomly allocated to a cross-grade, cross-gender, cross-caste House. Leadership roles are distributed. Accountability is collective. The system operates within the existing school day — no extra time needed.

Numbers that grew

Government Schools

0 +

Student Leaders activated

0 L

School Leaders empowered

0 +

Schools covered under an independent Duke University RCT

Nagapattinam — pilot to district scale

72%

of schools reported attendance improvement after MIPs (180 schools)

75%

of school leaders reported improved academic performance via peer learning

83%

of students reported feeling more included and actively participating

71%

of students flagged for learning gaps achieved grade-level benchmarks within 6 months

Tirunelveli — ongoing scale-up

22%

average attendance improvement across 40% of schools

47%

increase in student participation through Student Innovative Project MIPs

88%

of student leaders demonstrated measurable improvement, independently initiating projects

27%

increase in school culture indicators across 68 schools

Independent validation — Duke University RCT (177 schools, 500 students surveyed)

Attendance 89%

67% 89%

Pass percentage 69%

47% 69%

Sense of belonging 80%

53% 80%

Student engagement 60%

13% 60%

Inclusion 59%

20% 59%

Student leadership 88%

66% 88%

HOUSE SYSTEM

HOUSE SYSTEM

Unite. Contribute. Lead.

The Problem House System Addressess:

How it works

School leaders / Principals

House System In-charge teachers

Elected student leaders (House Captains)

District education officials

Numbers that grew

Nagapattinam — pilot to district scale

Tirunelveli — ongoing scale-up

Leadership Moments from the field

Resources

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