Timeline1986 to today
A teacher who kept on learning.
R.J. Bhuvanesh's life in education, year by year: where he studied, where he taught, when he took charge, and the bodies he serves on today.
- Engineering degree
- 1990
- First classroom
- 1991
- Leading since
- 2001
- Harvard
- 2012
Year by year
The timeline
His life in education in order, from an engineering college in Coimbatore to the bodies he serves on today.
Read the full storyLearning
1986 to 19901986 to 1990
Study
Engineering at CIT
He studied Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the Coimbatore Institute of Technology, under Bharathiyar University.
1987
The group
The first school opens
His father, Shri R. Janardhanan, opened the first school on Anandavelu Street, Perambur, a year after the Kaligi Ammal Ranganathan JJ Educational Trust was registered.
Teaching
1991 to 20011991 to 2001
Teaching
Ten years at the blackboard
He joined KRM as a Post Graduate Assistant and taught mathematics and computer science for ten years.
Leading
2001 to today2001
Leadership
Taking charge
He took over the institutions his father built, kept the discipline the schools were known for, and began to rethink how lessons were taught.
2005 to 2007
Study
M.S. Educational Management
A master's degree from Alagappa University, Karaikudi, completed sixteen years into his career.
2007 to 2008
Study
P.G. Diploma, School Education Leadership
The School Education Leadership Programme at CEMD, New Delhi.
2009
Study
Certificate in TQM (School Management)
Quality management for schools, from the Confederation of Indian Industry, Bangalore.
2012
Study
Harvard, Project Zero Classroom
At the Harvard Graduate School of Education, under Howard Gardner and David Perkins. What he learned went straight into KRM teacher training.
2013
Service
WISE, Doha
He joined the World Innovation Summit for Education in Qatar, and has been part of the global discussion on school reform ever since.
2017
Stage
The first TEDx at KRM
On 8 October 2017 the group hosted its first independently organised TEDx event. There have been seven so far.
2019
Honour
Distinguished Alumnus
On 9 March 2019 his own college, CIT, named him a Distinguished Alumnus for nurturing transformational education.
2024
The group
The first alumni meet
On 31 August 2024, more than 3,000 former students came back for the founding school's first alumni meet.
Today
Leadership
Where he stands today
Chief Executive Officer of the KRM Group of Schools, Secretary and Trustee of the family trust, Tamil Nadu Co-Chair of ARISE and a HundrED ambassador.
AlsoCertification in Personality Development from MILT, under the trainer Aporesh Acharya, a disciple of Dale Carnegie.
2012, Cambridge, Massachusetts
What he learned at Harvard.
He went to the Project Zero Classroom at the Harvard Graduate School of Education thinking Indian schools were far behind. He came back with a different view.
What struck me was not how far ahead they were. It was how close their thinking already was to what Nalanda and Taxila understood. We had simply stopped teaching that way.
Howard Gardner
Multiple Intelligences
Children are clever in many different ways, and one test can only measure one of them.
David Perkins
Teaching for Understanding
Knowing something is not the same as being able to use it.
Project Zero
Thinking routines
Short, simple steps that help children see how they are thinking.
What he brought back
Thinking routines in every KRM school, across all subjects
Teacher training that focuses on understanding rather than on finishing the syllabus
Asking children "What makes you say that?" before asking for the answer
Study and service
Where he serves today.
Six roles he holds in education bodies, in Tamil Nadu and abroad. Where he studied is in the timeline above.
Tamil Nadu Co-Chair
ARISE
Association for Re-inventing School Education in India, Tamil Nadu
Executive Committee Member
Association of Management of Private Schools (AMPS)
An association of private school managements, Tamil Nadu
Executive Council Member
Federation of Tamilnadu Matric Schools Management Association
The state body for matriculation school managements, Tamil Nadu
Chairperson (Former), Governing Body
Lady Willingdon Institute of Advanced Study in Education
A college of teacher education, Chennai
Ambassador
HundrED.org community
A global network for innovation in education, Finland
Member
CII, and WISE
Forums that help KRM measure its schools against global standards, India and Qatar