EducationWorld April 2024

SVIS Kandivali’s Extracurricular Excellence: Sports and Arts Programs

Shaibala Shetty, Principal, Swami Vivekanand International School & Junior College, Kandivali

At SVIS, we focus on holistic development programs for students, aiming to nurture all aspects of their growth, including intellectual, emotional, social, physical, and creative dimensions. Extracurricular activities and education are at the core of our curriculum, engaging students in various activities that promote […]

Student Leadership at Sarala Birla Academy

Sarala Birla Academy (SBA) was set up with Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla’s overarching vision of “igniting minds and creating in the students a love of learning and continuous development, by making the learning process an enjoyable experience and by doing so, help develop a higher sense of self-esteem in the student and endeavour to […]

LETTER FROM AMERICA: In praise of charter schools

Dr Larry Arnn, President, Hillsdale College, USA
America is beset with bureaucracy. Several million people work in public education and most of them aren’t teachers. The effect of charter laws is to decentralise the management of schools, a major advantage

In my last Letter from America (March), I wrote that Hillsdale College is sponsoring over 100 “charter […]

SKV’s Surya Top Trek: A journey of resilience and cultural immersion

At Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya Gwalior, the ethos of leading by example and learning through experience resonates deeply within the school’s culture. Through an array of adventurous opportunities meticulously woven into the fabric of the academic calendar, SKV nurtures its girls, fostering endurance and courage that extend far beyond the classroom walls.

The commencement of the academic […]

The DN Wisdom Tree Global School: Parents are Collaborative Partners

The DN Wisdom Tree Global School, founded in 2018, is an emerging high potential school, adjudged #2 Co-ed Day School in Bhubaneswar and Odisha while also being ranked #8 in India and #1 in Bhubaneswar and Odisha by the EW Grand Jury India School Rankings 2034-24.

The school distinguishes itself on the uniqueness factor in many […]

Happiness Lab in Navrachana Vidyani Vidyalaya : An Innovative Approach to Promote Student Happiness

Dr Archana Mishra, Principal, Navrachana Vidyani Vidyalaya, Vadodara

The Happiness Lab at our school, designed by a group of dedicated psychology students and their mentor, the Senior School Counsellor, is an innovative program aimed at generating happiness among students. The structure of the Happiness Lab has been meticulously planned to provide convenience and user-friendliness, ensuring […]

Nurturing Young Minds: The Essence of Holistic Education & Child Care at DPS International

– Rima Singh, Head of School, DPS International, Gurgaon

As the head of an IB school, it is important to share my thoughts on an aspect of education that we hold close to our hearts: holistic education and child care. Our commitment to providing a nurturing environment that prioritises the development of the whole child is […]

Teacher empowerment at Vista International

Teacher Empowerment: The Driving Force of Global Education at Vista International School

– Fareesa Qareena, Social Media Manager, Vista International School

Teachers, the unsung heroes of education, are the true architects of knowledge. They’re not just educators; they’re the magic makers who open doors to understanding and illuminate minds with wisdom. As Sidney Hook rightly said, “The teacher is the heart of the educational system.” At Vista […]

Experience at Anant University: Juhi Konch, Anant Fellow 2024

Given the opportunity to reflect on my time at Anant, I was met with the difficulty of summarizing six months of experiences in a concise manner. It is often said that change is an inevitable facet of life, and this sentiment certainly resonated deeply with me during my time here at Anant.

The precise moment I […]

Greenwood High: A Novel Approach to Education

– Niru Agarwal, Managing Trustee, Greenwood High

Our Journey

Greenwood High International School, Bangalore was established in 2004 with a goal to educate young individuals to become actively engaged and socially responsible citizens. The school accommodates over 8,000 students and employs more than 1,600 staff members across two major campuses – Sarjapur and Bannerghatta, offering ICSE, […]

Rhapsody program Vista International School

‘Rhapsody’ at Vista International School

– Fareesa Qareena, Social Media Manager, Vista International School

Picture this: a classroom where textbooks take a backseat, and creativity zooms to the front row. That’s exactly what the Rhapsody program at Vista International School is all about – turning learning into a thrilling adventure for the kids.

Grades 1 to 5 are in on the […]

Rising importance of Learning Experience Designers

Anthony Hie

A Learning Experience Designer (LXD) is a professional working in education and instructional design, specialising in developing effective and engaging learning experiences for students

Education is undergoing radical change, driven by technological advances that are propelling us towards a dramatically different future for learning. Metaverse Learning, Generative Artificial Intelligence, Learning Experience Platforms […]

India’s best private autonomous ASC colleges 2024-25

Since 1986 when the Delhi-based University Grants Commission (UGC) introduced a ‘Scheme for Autonomous Colleges’, their number has grown to 979. Of them the majority — 786 — are privately promoted and managed

St. Xavier, Mumbai’s Dr. Rajendra Shinde (centre): autonomy advantages

Way back in 1986, the National Policy on Education (1986-92) mooted the idea […]

India’s Top-Ranked Non-Autonomous ASC Colleges 2024-25

In this year’s private non-autonomous colleges league table, St. Stephen’s College, tied to the apron strings of Delhi University — a Central government institution — retains its #1 status. Several nationally acclaimed Arts, Science and Commerce (ASC) undergrad colleges are in the same boat

St. Stephen’s Prof. John Varghese (centre): service commitment

Like God, government […]

India’s top private engineering colleges 2024-25

Although it is commonly accepted that the IITs and NITs provide the best engineering undergrad education, since they admit a mere 2-3 percent of aspirant school-leavers, the public interest is better served by ranking undergrad private engineering colleges which constitute 70 percent of all engineering institutions countrywide, writes Dilip Thakore.

India’s engineering higher education institutions […]

Top 500 Arts, Science & Commerce Colleges 2024-25

The annual EWIHER with its careful categorisation of higher education institutions — to eliminate apples and oranges type comparisons – is the most reliable guide for school-leavers seeking academically and aptitudinally suitable colleges and universities, writes Dilip Thakore

As most corporate leaders will testify, academic standards India’s higher education institutions — especially undergrad arts, science and […]

India’s top government autonomous colleges 2024-25

For mysterious reasons government autonomous colleges are rarely ranked by the Union education ministry and media publications. EducationWorld is an exception because we appreciate them as islands of collegiate education excellence: Writes, Summiya Yasmeen

GDWC, Hyderabad principal Dr. Padmavathi (centre) & students: long-awaited recognition

India’s 979 autonomous undergrad colleges have a special place of honour […]

Don’t blame capitalism

Ex facie it is shocking and a severe indictment of free market capitalism. A thin upper crust of 1 percent wealthiest Indians cornered 22.6 percent of national income in 2022. Income inequality was never so great in the good ole days. In 1951, the top 1 percent bagged 11.5; in 1980, the heyday of neta-babu […]

Impressive explainer

Breaking the mould: Reimagining India’s economic future
Raghuram Rajan & Rohit Lamba
Random House
Rs.799
Pages 366

This book contains an impressive array of aspects/data points to argue that India’s seemingly impressive economic growth has been very patchy

Raghuram Rajan, former Governor, RBI and former chief economic advisor to the Union government, needs no introduction to knowledgeable […]

Inglish hypocrisy

The dawn of the Internet Age and spread of OTT cinema is one of the positive outcomes of the digital revolution. It has radically transformed Indian cinema and movies, and freed the intelligentsia interested in this story-telling medium from having to compulsorily watch Hollywood and esoteric European cinema, depicting narratives of alien societies and contexts. […]

Public sector oppression

There’s something rotten in India’s public sector enterprises (PSEs). Although by definition they are owned by the public and all citizens are shareholders, in reality they are the private sector of commissions-hungry politicians and bureaucrats, and those who work in the 256 Central PSEs and an equivalent number owned by state governments.

Failure to deliver promised […]

H-Pop phenomenon

H-Pop: the secretive world of Hindutva pop stars
Kunal Purohit
Harper Collins
Rs.499
Pages 306

This book draws us into the world of the modern propaganda machine that the Sangh Parivar has nearly perfected for the new Internet age

A silent, hidden campaign master-minded by Hindutva ideologues and conducted by social media entertainers could well prove a […]

Institution Profile

MS Dhoni Global School, Hosur

Paromita Sengupta

MSDGS is a unique sports focused holistic education partnership between experienced educators and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s iconic and most successful cricket captain in all formats of this sophisticated game

Chandrasekhar (centre left) with Dhoni: sports-focused holistic education

Sited on a 16-acre verdant campus in the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border town of Hosur, an industrial […]

19th Anniversary Essay

Board exams mystique

The Karnataka state government is pushing the evaluation system several steps backward. The RTE Act, 2009 had stipulated school-based assessment such as continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE)

The Karnataka state government’s decision to revive board exams in classes V and VIII is in keeping with the post-RTE (Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education […]

Education Briefs

Airbus-IIM-Mumbai concordat

Delhi, march 6. The Paris-based Airbus Group signed a contract with the Indian Institute of Management in Mumbai (IIM-Mumbai) to provide aviation education to professionals and empower them with industry-ready skills under the company’s Airbus Beyond programme.

Under this contract, IIM-Mumbai will offer short-term aviation courses to aspiring and working civil aviation professionals to harness […]

Experts react to cancellation of board exams

They said it

“The 52 primers in Indian languages have paved the way for the beginning of a new civilisational renaissance.”
Dharmendra Pradhan, Union education minister, launching 52 school textbooks in Indian non-scheduled languages (Hindustan Times, March 9)

“The government will probably claim that it was simply following the law; that Kejriwal was not responding to summons. But the […]

Nurturing Empathy as a Life Skill

– Paras Mani Barman, Academic Coordinator, Ecole Globale International Girls’ School

Ecole Globale International Girls’ School places a significant emphasis on nurturing empathy as a life skill among its students. Recognising the crucial role empathy plays in personal and societal development, the school integrates it into various aspects of its curriculum and extracurricular activities.

At Ecole, […]

Mailbox

Promising times ahead!
Your cover story ‘Modi government’s education report card 2014-24’ (EW March) offers a refreshing perspective on the NaMo government’s performance in the education sector.
I agree with Prof. Rishikesh’s views that over the past decade of BJP rule at the Centre, education has received high visibility with the long overdue introduction of […]

Institution Profile

University of Hull, UK

A public research university, Hull is ranked among the world’s Top 200 universities in the latest Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. Moreover, Hull is ‘Gold’ rated under the Teaching Excellence Framework 2023

Hull University vista: academic rigour & impactful research

The 14th oldest British varsity, University of Hull (estb.1927) enjoys an excellent reputation for academic […]

Tamil Nadu: Conditional acceptance

Shivani Chaturvedi (Chennai)

John Prabhu: urgency call

Although politically BJP, the ruling party at the Centre, and DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu (pop.77 million), are at daggers drawn, the Tamil Nadu government has signalled an intent to embrace the Prime Minister Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) programme, launched in September, 2022.

In an official […]

Madhya Pradesh: Scandalous indifference

Aditi Maheshwari (Bhopal)

GKSP children: gruelling trek

The popular urban perception is that rural SC (scheduled caste) and ST (scheduled tribe) children are content with their backwardness and poor-quality schools. This perception was contradicted on February 26 when a delegation of 40 class VII-VIII girl children of the Government Kanya Shiksha Parisar (GKSP), a

Karnataka: Board exams imbroglio

Reshma Ravishanker (Bengaluru)

Class VIII students writing board exams

After a month-long flip-flop over conducting class V, VIII and IX ‘summative assessments’ aka board exams for government and private schools affiliated with the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB), the last leg of the exams was conducted on March 25-26. This after the Karnataka […]

West Bengal: Education Achilles heel

Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata)

Bengal rural government primary school

With dates of general Election 2024 declared, the political mercury in West Bengal (pop.91 million), set for seven-phase polling from April 19 to June 1, has touched unprecedented levels. Leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and resurgent BJP are trading vitriolic diatribes, indulging in character assassination […]

Delhi: Dim ray of hope

Autar Nehru (Delhi)

Newly elected JNUSU president Dhananjay (centre) & supporters

Living up to its reputation of being a bastion of woke Left politics, a students’ coalition of organisations affiliated with mainstream Left parties — AISF (affiliated with CPI), SFI (CPI-M), AISA (Communist Party Marxist Leninist) and DSF (independent Left) backed by BAPSA (a Dalit […]

Ways & means to fund political parties

Full disclosure of details of the Electoral Bonds Scheme (EBS) by the State Bank of India and Election Commission following stern admonition by the Supreme Court of India, is proof that despite dismantling of the licence-permit-quota regime in 1991, government still exercises substantial control over industry and commerce. That’s why a large number of companies […]

Reset of Sino-India relations overdue

Amid all the hype and hoopla about India having become the world’s fifth largest economy with a $4 trillion GDP and fastest annual rate of 6.2 percent GDP growth, it’s an unpleasant, but necessary duty to strike a discordant note.

GDP should be measured according to the per capita metric and not by way of absolute […]

Letter from the Editor

Despite continuous efforts of EducationWorld for almost a quarter century to accord high importance to public education improvement and upgradation, human capital development remains a blind-spot of the Indian establishment, academy, and society.

For over three decades the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) of the independent Pratham Education Foundation has been highlighting poor learning outcomes […]

Empowering Leaders, Transforming Education: Why You Can’t Miss the Education Leadership Retreat 2024

In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, effective leadership is the cornerstone of success. The Education Leadership Retreat 2024 hosted by EducationWorld and Boarding Schools of India from May 9-11, 2024 at Pinegrove School, Dharampur and Lawrence School, Sanawar offers a unique opportunity for education leaders to come together, gain invaluable insights, and chart the […]

Emerald Heights, Indore shines at Techfest: Among Top-6 teams in Asia

Emerald Heights International School in Indore has proudly secured a prestigious position among the Top-6 Teams from across Asia at Techfest, Asia’s largest science and technology fest organized by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). This remarkable achievement highlights the school’s dedication to excellence and innovation in the field of science and technology.

Techfest, […]