In the inaugural Ivy League tables in EWISR 2025-26, the number of capital-intensive and relatively well-equipped day-cum-boarding schools included is only five. All these schools are ranked #1 although they are differentiated inter se by stars and total scores

One of the few progressive policy initiatives implemented by the Central and state governments of post-independence India is to have encouraged co-education (mixed gender education). This was a bold step towards attaining the goal of gender equality incorporated into the Constitution over 70 years ago by newly independent India’s Congress party under pressure from Mahatma Gandhi, because girl’s education was accorded low priority. As a result the great majority of the country’s 1.10 million primary-secondary government schools are co-ed institutions, although boys and girls still tend to be grouped separately in classrooms.

Taking a cue from this progressive official initiative, most private sector schools promoted after independence were mixed gender. Therefore ever since the pioneer EducationWorld India School Rankings was initiated in 2007 to evaluate and rank India’s 3,000-5,000 best schools, the league table of co-ed day schools has been the longest and most competitive. 

Yet within the broad category of day schools, day-cum-boarding schools, because they tend to be more capital-intensive and differ substantially in terms of infrastructure and institutional culture, are widely regarded as the glamour section.

Taking this reality forward, day-cum-boarding schools have been separately evaluated for award of Ivy League status. Moreover, since they constitute a minority within the broad category of day schools, the number of Day-cum-boarding schools elevated to Ivy League status in EWISR 2025-26 is a mere five — Daly College, Indore; Greenwood High, Bangalore; SAI International, Bhubaneswar; Neerja Modi School, Jaipur, and DPS, R.K Puram, Delhi. Although all these schools are ranked #1, among them Daly College, Indore (DC, estb. 1882) is awarded 5-star status and ranked highest.

Dr. Gunmeet Bindra, an alumna of Calcutta University and the Delhi School of Economics, appointed the first woman principal of Daly College, Indore in 2022, welcomes the “brilliant and inspiring idea” of carving out a separate Ivy League category for consistently high ranked schools. “It relieves EW readers of the tedium of seeing the same names in the Top 10 league tables, incentivises schools to strive for Ivy League status while enabling new schools to rise to the top in non-Ivy League categories,” says Bindra, also the first woman principal of the top-ranked Welham Boys School, Dehradun (2012-20).

Bindra has double cause for celebration. Not only has DC been elevated to Ivy League category, this vintage CBSE and Cambridge International (UK)-affiliated co-ed day-cum-boarding school set within an expansive and superbly equipped 118-acre campus in suburban Indore, has been awarded top scores under eight of the 15 parameters of school education excellence.

“All of us in DC eagerly look forward to the annual EWISR, because it provides a comprehensive diagnosis of the health and well-being of India’s best schools. Therefore the top scores awarded by your almost 10,000 knowledgeable sample respondents on eight of the 15 parameters of education excellence has come as a stimulating shot in the arm for all our stakeholders, including the governing board, teachers, parents and students. It is proof that we are not only providing all-round balanced education to our children, we have taken holistic education to a new level,” says Bindra.

Bindra is especially pleased with DC’s top scores under the parameters of sports education and infrastructure. “Our Board of Governors has continuously sanctioned heavy investment in developing the school’s infrastructure. As a result we offer the best sports and field games facilities of any school countrywide. These include a Ranji Trophy cricket ground; an under-construction special grass covered hockey field; fully-digital AI-enabled classrooms, and a full menu of co-curricular education options. I am also gratified that your sample respondents have awarded us top score for mental and emotional well-being of students. This is a high priority area for us. We provide deep counselling services for all students and will shortly be introducing a whole school Happiness curriculum,” adds Bindra who modestly ascribes the runaway high score awarded to DC under the leadership parameter to the “entire team” including the governing board, teachers, cooperative parents and students. Currently the co-ed Daly College has 1,780 students mentored by 250 teachers on its muster rolls.

Niru Agarwal, founder and managing trustee of the Greenwood High School, Bangalore (GWHS, estb. 2004) is equally delighted that this relatively young day-cum-boarding school has been vaulted into the Ivy League category of super nova schools.

“The highest scores awarded to us under the closely related parameters of teacher welfare & development, competence of faculty and academic reputation are very encouraging because we invest heavily in diligent teacher recruitment and training. The outcome is the excellent IB, IGCSE and CISCE board exam scores awarded to our students. For instance 20 percent of all students in the 80 plus percentile in the CISCE class XII board exams countrywide this year, are from GWHS. This is an unprecedented achievement, thanks to the high competence of our teachers. Our infrastructure and facilities also deserve top score. All our campuses are 70 percent green and provide excellent oxygen to students who are thus enabled to excel in all field games and sports,” says Agarwal. 

It bears reiteration that the number of regularly top-ranked day-cum-boarding schools promoted to Ivy League in the inaugural EWISR 2025-26 is a mere five. The state-of-the-art SAI International School, Bhubaneswar, carefully conceptualised by the late Dr. Bijaya K. Sahoo after visiting with and drawing from the world’s best boarding schools, is a model day-cum-boarding school which has established the hitherto educationally backward state of Odisha as a hub of 21st century K-12 education. Dr. Bijaya was unfortunately snatched away in the prime of life by the Covid-19 virus in 2021. But not before he established the fully residential, superbly furbished Sai International Residential School, Cuttack and Sai Angan pre-school, reportedly the largest modern pre-primary in Asia. These excellent, model K-12 schools are being ably managed by Dr. (Mrs.) Silpi Sahoo who is carrying the valuable legacy of her late and much-lamented husband, forward.

Likewise the impressively-equipped Neerja Modi School, Jaipur and DPS, RK Puram, Delhi which attract students from across the country and beyond have been awarded Ivy League status.