Appeal to edupreneurs CONGRATULATIONS TO EDUPRENEURS spearheading the promising initiatives featured in your cover story ˜Big bang initiatives revolutionising Indian education™ (EW October). From curriculum enrichment and experiential learning to robotics, music education, and sports and fitness programmes, their initiatives are slowly but surely adding value and substance to conventional school education. However, it seems these programmes are restricted to elite private schools affiliated with CBSE, CISCE and international exam boards. My appeal to these edupreneurs is to broad-base their activities to reach budget private and state government schools in urban as well as rural India. It was also heartening to read about the recently launched Ashoka University in Delhi NCR. Liberal arts and humanities education has long been neglected in India and the establishment of Ashoka University modeled on top American liberal arts colleges is sure to revive interest in the study of humanities. I also noted in the story that several other universities are establishing liberal arts schools, a welcome development. Anil Varma Mumbai Protect public sector RE YOUR POSTSCRIPT item ˜Decline & fall of HMT™ (EW October), it™s sad how one of India™s best watch manufacturing companies, HMT, is facing closure as it has failed to compete in the globalised market. Recently, Hindustan Motors stopped production of the Ambassador car; now HMT is on the verge of closing down. How unfortunate that foreign brands are taking over the Indian market! One hopes prime minister Narendra Modi will stop this trend which is threatening indigenous companies. It would be better to sell ailing public sector companies to Indian private corporates so the former don™t lose their identity. Mahesh Kumar Delhi Disheartening omission WE HAD GREAT FAITH IN EducationWorld but it™s really disheartening and demotivating for students, staff and parents to note that the survey has omitted to include City Montessori School & College, Kanpur Road, Lucknow ” one of the biggest schools in India and one with exceptional achievements and extraordinary merits. It™s an irony that out of the 8,263 knowledgeable fees-paying parents, educationists, principals and teachers whom your team interviewed, none happens to be from our school. We have self-assessed our school on the parameters of the EW India School Rankings 2014 and find that it has distinguished itself on all parameters. I request you to send your team to survey the campus so as to do justice to our students, teachers and parents. Dr. Vineeta Kamran Principal, City Montessori School, Kanpur Road, Lucknow The flagship City Montessori School, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow is ranked in the EW 2014 survey ” Editor Unbelievable faux pas I READ YOUR EW India School Rankings 2014 (EW September) with some amusement. The biggest faux pas among many others, was the ranking of Bishop Cotton School, Shimla as India™s #1 boys boarding school. I would not rate it even in the Top 5. This faux pas has made you lose credibility. Some other rankings in other categories are also plainly unbelievable. You need to do something about the rankings methodology. I wonder…
