Biography
Rekha Pappu is Professor at the School of Educational Studies and Convenor of the Doctoral Students Office at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Hyderabad. Her research interests are in the areas of education, development, women’s studies and cultural studies. She has published in these areas in academic journals and anthologies as well as in magazines and newspapers. She has co-edited the two volumes of Springer's Major Reference Works titled Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia (2021) . Before joining TISS, Rekha Pappu was the Coordinator & Director of Anveshi Research Centre for Women’s Studies, Hyderabad (1997 - 2003), Convenor of the Andhra Pradesh Social Watch (2004 – 2005) and Research Consultant with the Higher Education Cell of the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (2007-2010). She has been a Fulbright-Tata Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA (2001), a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, UK (2003) and a Key Technology Partnership Fellow at the University of Technology, Sydney (2015). At Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Rekha Pappu has served as the Chairperson of the School of Educational Studies (formerly called the Azim Premji School of Education) between 2012-2017 and 2019-2023; Convenor of the Internal Committee between 2019-2024; Chairperson of the Student Grievance Redressal Committee between 2023-2025 and as member of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell between 2020 and 2024. She has undertaken study projects and impact assessments for a range of institutions and organizations including the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India; Wipro Applying Thought in Schools (WATIS), Bengaluru, Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO), Netherlands; German Agro Action, Delhi; Oxfam, Hyderabad and Tata Trusts, Mumbai. Even as her primary engagement continues to be with academics in terms of teaching, developing curriculum and conducting research, Rekha Pappu aspires to write fiction! Narrative flow and finesse in all forms (written, spoken or in the visual medium, and as fiction or non-fiction) fascinates her.