Apart from the expertise of REACH India partners, a national-level Advisory Board consisting of persons from the academic, business, government and NGO communities has been constituted to suggest policies, procedures and practices that will enable REACH India to achieve its objectives, as well as promote more generally the objectives of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) with regard to vulnerable children.

Our board members are:

	Mr. Sumit Bose Principal Secretary, Finance, Government of Madhya Pradesh Mr. Bose was the Joint Secretary in the Department of Elementary Education, Government of India, and has been closely involved with DPEP and preparation of SSA. He was also a consultant with the UNDP/USAID project on Getting Children Out of Work and Into School. He is well-versed with the SSA program - its strengths as well as its current needs.
	Prof. R. Govinda Senior Fellow, The National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) Prof. Govinda is an internationally renowned expert on primary education. He is the head of the school and non-formal education unit at NIEPA, New Delhi and a visiting professor at the University of London. He has been a consultant for UNESCO, UNICEF, ACCU, NORAD, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, and has also published several books and professional papers in Indian and international journals. He specializes in policy analysis, decentralized management, basic education, non-formal education and educational evaluation.
	Dr. Venita Kaul Education Specialist, World Bank Dr. Kaul worked with the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for several years and subsequently joined the World Bank. She has been working closely on the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) and SSA and has specialized in early childhood care and education.
	Prof. Shyam Menon Faculty of Education, Central Institute of Education, University of Delhi An academician with many years of experience, Prof. Menon has been an advisor on many education projects, has participated in several Joint Review Missions for DPEP, and been on several committees for education research.
	Ms. Vimala Ramachandran Educational Researcher and Consultant Ms. Ramachandran has in-depth knowledge of the primary education sector, national education programs and the NGO sector. She was the first National Director of Mahila Samakhya, when the program first began. She has carried out an appraisal of SSA, and is well aware of the needs of the education sector including SSA.
	Dr. Shantha Sinha Secretary Trustee, MV Foundation MV Foundation is well known internationally for its work on eradication of child labor. Dr. Sinha, founder-member, has several awards to her credit for her work on this subject. In 2003, she received the Magsaysay award for Community Leadership; in acknowledgment of her contribution, the government of India has conferred on her the Padma Shree award.