Ashok Gupta Rise &
Reform Honour
For Bold Reform and Educational Upliftment
Ashok Gupta
Ashok Gupta
Ashok Gupta was one of the most consequential education reformers of post-independence India. As the founder of Salwan Public School and driving force behind the Salwan Education Trust, he believed that quality education must be accessible - not only to the privileged, but to every child, regardless of background.
His schools became laboratories of both academic excellence and social consciousness. He championed affordable, values-driven education at a time when commercialisation was reshaping India's schools, and resisted every temptation to compromise quality for profit.
Why This Award Exists
For the Reformers Who Changed What Was Possible
Ashok Gupta lived his conviction that education is a right, not a commodity. He saw India's school system not as it was, but as it could be - and he worked, year after year, to close that gap.
The Ashok Gupta Rise & Reform Honour recognises educators who carry forward that same spirit of reform - those who take on the hard work of transforming systems, challenging assumptions, and building something better than what they inherited.
2025 Awardee
Dr. Deepak Madhok
Dr. Deepak Madhok has built the Sunbeam Group into one of the most respected education networks in Eastern India - not through shortcuts, but through a steady commitment to quality, values, and the belief that every child deserves an exceptional teacher.
As Chairman of Sunbeam Group of Educational Institutions, he has overseen the growth of a chain that now spans multiple cities, serving thousands of students with a consistently high standard of education.
Words of Honour
"Dr. Deepak Madhok has done what reformers do - he has made quality education available to many who might otherwise have been denied it, and done so without compromising on what quality means. The Ashok Gupta Rise & Reform Honour goes to an educator who, like Ashok Gupta himself, believes that doing right and doing well are not in conflict."- ScooNews Memorial Awards Jury, 2025
Award Ceremony - 2025
Moments from the inaugural ScooNews Memorial Awards at Global Ed-Fest 2025, Jaipur.
Know a Worthy Nominee?
Nominate an educator who has taken on the hard work of reform - transforming their school, their community, or their system.