Geetha Mariswamy is a PhD Candidate at the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. With more than a decade of experience spanning education, gender and labor in teaching, program implementation, research and grassroots education initiatives, her work focuses on equity, access and educational transformation in India.
Geetha began her journey in education as a Teaching Fellow with Teach for India, where she taught children from underserved communities and helped build community-led learning spaces. During her work at RV Educational Consortium, she led a four-year participatory action research project on whole-school improvement. She worked closely with schools, teachers, communities, and education departments to strengthen inclusive learning practices, teacher development, and school processes. Her previous publications and conference presentations engage with language teaching learning practices, teacher beliefs, and governance in education.
Geetha is also the co-founder of Haadibadi Community library in Bengaluru that creates access to reading and creative learning opportunities for children and youth from marginalized communities. She was recognized as an Emerging International Voice for the Library Movement by the Goethe-Institut and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
Geetha’s doctoral research lies at the intersection of policy, regulation, privatization and teacher workforce dynamics. It examines how regulatory frameworks attempt to balance the public-good nature of education with growing privatization and particularly in teacher education. During the fellowship, she is investigating the historical and political underpinnings of policy reforms, institutional responses and evolving governance landscape of teacher education in India.