India, Dec. 1 -- The inauguration of a new middle-school block at Srinagar's Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Kothibagh, marks the arrival of Kerala's acclaimed Nadakkavu transformation model in Jammu & Kashmir. And with it comes a new wave of hope for public education in the region.

In an exclusive conversation, Faizal E. Kottikollon - co-founder of the Faizal & Shabana Foundation (FSF) and architect of the PRISM reform framework - explains how a model born in Kozhikode has grown into a blueprint for schools across India, and why he believes Kashmir is the beginning of a national movement.

For Kottikollon, the inspiration goes back more than a decade.

"In 2012, during an interview with Malayala Manorama, I said something that...