Quite logically, the overwhelming majority of institutions rated and ranked in the annual EducationWorld India School Rankings (EWISR) are day schools because the great majority of the country’s children for various reasons, particularly affordability, are enroled in day rather than residential schools. Therefore of India’s 1,000 most well-reputed primary-secondary schools grouped in 14 different categories” co-ed, boys and girls day schools; sui generis co-ed day-cum boarding schools; co-ed, boys and girls boarding schools and day, day-cum boarding, and wholly residential international schools among others” the largest cohort of the country’s 230 million children are in 9-5 day schools and within this category in co-ed day schools.

In sum, of the 1,000 schools countrywide included in the latest EW India’s Best Co-ed Day Schools 2015-16, almost 800 “after allowing for equally-ranked institutions ” are co-ed day schools, a reality which could be interpreted as progress towards gender egalitarianism. The league table of co-ed day schools extends to 27 pages and awards 290 ranks, a number likely to be far greater because institutions following equally ranked schools are awarded the next running number.

Parents, principals, teachers, educationists and students interested in intelligently assessing and evaluating K-12 education institutions, are advised to note the following. Firstly, for day schools, national rankings are of purely ornamental value, and at best confer bragging rights. For the simple reason that it’s highly unlikely that given the unique labour and management mobility difficulties of socialist India, parents will relocate for the purpose of enroling their children in the country’s top-ranked day schools. City and state rankings in that order, are more important. The maximum that parents of 9-5 day school children are likely to do is to arrange for long commutes or enroll them in day-cum-boarding schools, many of whom offer five-day boarding plans.

Secondly, it’s important for parents, principals, teachers etc, to note that a low ranking in the national day school league table is of little consequence because a school modestly ranked in the all-India league table could” and is likely to be” highly-ranked in the state and city rankings which are displayed separately. Moreover, please note mere inclusion in the Top 1000 EW India’s Best Co-ed Day Schools 2015-16 places a school among the top .07 percent of primary-secondary schools countrywide.

Against this backdrop, the EW India’s Best Co-ed Day Schools 2015-16 of co-ed day schools offers a dramatic departure from last year. The hitherto unfancied dark horse Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane, (SSST), Mumbai ranked #6 in 2013 and #5 in 2014, has been voted India’s #1 co-ed day school this year with top ratings in five of the 14 parameters of primary-secondary education excellence, including teacher competence and commitment, academic reputation, leadership and value for money.

Revathi Srinivasan, a history, education and early childhood education postgrad of Bombay and Delhi universities and director and principal of the CISCE-affiliated, K-12 SSST (estb.1969) which has an aggregate enrolment of 6,650 students, including 3,205 girls mentored by 338 teachers, is gratified but not surprised by the school’s huge leap forward in the public esteem. Since SSST became affiliated with CISCE in the year 2000, the school management has made strenuous efforts to improve our academics, life skills, and sports curriculums and teacher development programmes by absorbing best international K-12 practices and processes. Currently we have nine partner schools abroad and our teachers are routinely given in-service training and sent abroad for training. Indeed, the credit for our top ranking needs to be given to our committed and dedicated teachers who have translated the vision of the management into classroom curriculums and taken ownership of it, says Srinivasan.

Arun Kapur, the highly respected founder-director of the Vasant Valley School, Delhi (VVS), promoted by media magnate Aroon Purie (India Today, India Today TV, Business Today, Daily Mail etc) in 1990, is pleased that VVS, which was top-ranked in 2012 and 2013 but  relegated to #4 in 2014, has been ranked a notch higher this year. The annual EWISR surveys serve a useful purpose inasmuch as they keep school managements on their toes. But it would be a mistake to consciously work towards higher ranking in the league tables. In VVS, our focus is inward as we work towards improving learning outcomes across the board to ensure that our students perform well not only academically to be admitted into the best universities worldwide, but also develop into compassionate, caring and contributing citizens. Therefore it’s satisfying that the parameters on which VVS has been top or highly rated ” teacher welfare and development, individual attention to students, life skills and conflict management and leadership and management quality ” are our prime focus areas, says Kapur, a history postgraduate of Delhi™s blue-chip St. Stephen’s College, who taught at The Doon School (1977-89) before being appointed the founder-principal of VVS in 1990.

Likewise, Manit Jain, a commerce graduate of Delhi University and serial entrepreneur who switched tracks to co-promote the Heritage School, Gurgaon (HSG, estb.1999) after which he signed up for a Masters in education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is encouraged that this nexgen K-12 school is steadily advancing up the EW league tables.

It’s encouraging that the radical innovations we are introducing in school education are being appreciated. But I cant say that I’m impressed by some institutions which are top-ranked in your survey. Most of them are prospering because of past reputations without changing to meet the demands of the 21st century. On the other hand, in HSG we are engaged in establishing path-breaking new structures, processes and practices in teacher development and collaborative learning to prepare our students for complex workplace challenges which will confront them in 2025. I don’t think your respondents have grasped the enormity of the transformation in K-12 education which we have undertaken in HSG, says Jain. Affiliated with CBSE and the IBO, HSG hosts 2,888 students, including 1,383 girls mentored by 300 teachers.

With the national rankings league table which rates and ranks over 800 co-ed day schools mainly of ornamental value, we present the city, state and national league tables in that order.