This year the co-ed day schools league table rates 1,928 primary-secondaries — the largest of any category. It augurs well for better gender relations and greater social respect for girls and women in future It is surely an indicator of social progress and emancipation that the largest league table in the annual EducationWorld India School Rankings (EWISR) is of co-ed day schools. This year’s league table of co-ed day schools with sufficiently high public profile to be included in the rankings survey (institutions ranked by less than 25 sample respondents are eliminated from the league tables) aggregates 1,948, by far the largest number in any category. This augurs well for better gender relations and greater social respect for girls and women in future. If boys and girls fairly learn and study together from the early years, they are likely to become more empathetic and mutually respectful of each other. The number of all-boys and all-girls gender-segregated schools — although they serve a useful purpose in conservative societies and communities — is declining, and the country is certain to be better off if co-ed day (and residential) schools multiply. It’s also all to the good that the co-ed day schools top table is dominated by primary-secondaries sited in the Delhi NCR region, which has a poor gender egalitarianism record and where crimes against women are widely prevalent. Indeed it would be fairly accurate to state without fear of contradiction, that the gender-egalitarian record of north India — especially of the educationally and socio-economically backward BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh) states which grudgingly host 60 percent of India’s 1.30 billion citizens — is poor, and girl children and women suffer gender discrimination and violence on a substantially greater scale than in any other of the Indian Union of 29 states and seven Union territories. Against this depressing backdrop, it’s encouraging that four of the Top 5 most admired co-ed day schools ad seriatim — Heritage Xperiential Learning School (HXLS), Gurugram; Step-by-Step, Noida; Vasant Valley, Delhi; The Shri Ram School, Vasant Vihar/ Moulsari and Mother’s International, Delhi are sited in Delhi NCR (national capital region). The sole Top 5 schools beyond Delhi NCR are the KFI School, Adyar, Chennai and Cathedral & John Connon, Mumbai jointly ranked #5. Further down the Top 10 table, there is a greater geographical variety. After the vintage Cathedral & John Connon (CJCS, estb.1860) which has regained its #1 Maharashtra and Mumbai position, the 2021-22 sample respondents have ranked three Bangalore/Bengaluru schools #6-9 — Inventure Academy #6 (cf. #3 in 2020-21) and #1 in Karnataka; The Valley School and Mallya Aditi International jointly #7 (4 & 5) followed by Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania, Thane (Mumbai) at #8. Three Hyderabad-based schools — CHIREC International and Glendale Academy jointly ranked #9 and #1 in Telangana/Hyderabad and Vidyaranya High School complete the Top 10. Also ranked #10 is the Nirmal Bhatia School, Delhi. “It was too much to expect from this year’s different sample respondents to also rank HXLS #1…
