Impressive evolution

My heartiest compliments to Team EW for the comprehensive EducationWorld India School Rankings Part I and II (EW November and December)! As an avid reader of EducationWorld — especially the school rankings edition — I am impressed with the way EWISR has evolved and matured over the years to match the needs of changing times.

For instance, in light of the 65-70 weeks long schools lockdown forcing children to learn from home with limited scope for sports education and internationalism, two new parameters —‘online education effectiveness’ and ‘mental and emotional well-being services’ — introduced this year have assumed greater significance.

-Raksha Chinappa on email

Ours by default

We wish to bring to your notice that the Jubilee Hills branch of Polka Dots Preschool was shut down in 2019. Therefore, we believe that in the EW Hyderabad Preschool Rankings 2021-22 (EW December) in which Polka Dots, Jubilee Hills is ranked #12 under the best proprietary preschools category should by default be awarded to Polka Dots, Kondapur branch.

I would be grateful if you could carry out the change in your online edition.

-Sindu Cherukuri, Polka Dots Kondapur, Hyderabad

Sure. This change has been made online on www.educationworld.in — Editor

Importance of teachers

I am an early childhood educator and a recent subscriber of EducationWorld. I am impressed with your magazine’s high editorial standards and especially grateful that it accords as much importance to early childhood education as it does to primarysecondary and higher education.

In Part II of EW India School Rankings 2021-22 (EW December), I noted that your magazine ranked preschools in six cities by rating them under ten parameters of early childhood excellence.

It was also heartening to read the interviews of owners and principals of top ranked preschools, with most of them attributing their top ranking to the efforts of their teachers.

-Maya Sharma, Gurugram

Timely advice

I agree with the views of Prof. Geeta Kingdon in her Expert Comment essay ‘Quality education: New definition’ (EW December). She has correctly diagnosed the infirmities of Indian education and urges a redefinition post-Covid of education to prepare children and youth to address contemporary health and climate change challenges.

The time has come to pause, reflect and introspect on reworking our curriculums to include not only knowledge and skills but also focus on instilling ethical values and attitudes to transform youth into responsible global citizens. Prof. Kingdon’s appeal to educators to harness new digital technologies to improve education standards is timely and relevant.

-Ramya Iyengar, Chennai

Shocking omission

I am a regular reader of EducationWorld and eagerly await the rankings edition every year. It is refreshing to note that the list of philanthropic schools in the EW India School Rankings 2021-22 (EW November) has grown since last year. However, this year I noticed that among the 13 philanthropy schools listed, four branches of the same group of institutions have been included.

On the other hand, it is shocking that not a single school from south India has been included when several schools in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu offer free-of-charge quality education to lakhs of students. They are routinely featured among top schools in the state when board results are declared.

Considering that they are driven by not-for-profit motives and work towards achieving the goal of education for all, the least you can do is improve your survey methodology and give these schools the attention they deserve.

-Rakshitha Suresh, Bengaluru

Rankings fatigue

I have been a subscriber of EducationWorld for the past decade. I admit your annual EW India School Rankings is one of the most credible ranking surveys in the country. But I have a suggestion. Over the years, a kind of fatigue has begun to set in with the same set of schools being top-ranked year on year. Perhaps these schools can be classified in a separate category so that a fair chance can be given to other lesser-known exemplary schools.

-Charu Singh on email