Initiated in 2007, the annual EducationWorld India School Rankings (EWISR) survey which rates and ranks the country’s most reputed primary-secondary schools segregated into three main categories — day, boarding and international and ten sub-categories: Day (boys, girls, day-cum-boarding and co-ed); Boarding (boys, girls and co-ed), and International (day, day-cum-boarding and residential) — to ensure level playing fields, has since evolved into the world’s largest and most comprehensive schools ranking survey. Unlike league tables in Western countries which rank schools according to their students’ average scores in major school-leaving board exams, the annual perceptions-based EWISR rates schools under 14 diverse parameters of primary-secondary education, including academic reputation. The scores awarded by sample respondents (over 11,000 parents, educators, principals, teachers and senior students) under each parameter, are totalled to rank schools in each sub-category. Moreover, average scores in school-leaving examinations of national boards are included in the league tables, if provided. With the passage of time and rising popularity of the annual EWISR, we have been subjected to pressure to also rate and rank schools in other categories. Therefore in recent years, we have widened our coverage to rate and rank the country’s most reputed government day and boarding schools, schools for special needs children, and budget private schools in the annual EWISR. Moreover to acknowledge and felicitate pre-primaries aka preschools and higher education institutions, for the past decade we have been publishing dedicated surveys rating and ranking them separately. However with the number of primary-secondary schools in the annual EWISR 2020-21 survey (conducted ab initio by our trusted partner, the Delhi-based, highly-reputed market research and opinion polls company Centre for Forecasting Pvt. Ltd (C fore, estb.2000)) having increased exponentially to over 2,500, we have had to spread the EWISR 2020-21 league tables over our November and December issues. Moreover, because of the disruption caused to schools and our own schedules by the Covid-19 pandemic, we are obliged to include abridged versions of the hitherto independent Preschools and Budget Private Schools annual surveys in this issue. Last month (November 15), we published league tables and commentary of the country 2,000 Day, Government and Special Needs schools. In this issue, we present league tables rating and ranking the country’s best Boarding (girls, boys, co-ed), International (day, day-cum-boarding and residential), and Budget Private Schools. Also the most admired CBSE/CISCE-affiliated schools in the UAE, Oman and Bahrain and Top 10 schools in Bangladesh and Nepal. Like I said, the annual EWISR is the world’s largest and most comprehensive schools ranking survey. Your editors wish all educators and readers a Merry Xmas and a substantially happier post-pandemic New Year.
