Acknowledgement of the importance of English-medium preschool education is rising rapidly within Gujarat, a laggard state in English language education. Here are Ahmedabad’s top ranked preschools for the year 2013:

A laggard state in English language education, acknowledgement of the importance of English-medium preschool education is rising rapidly within Gujarat, whose economic development model has aroused nationwide interest following the soaring popularity of chief minister Narendra Modi, front-runner for the prime minister’s office in New Delhi. This is evident from the sudden mushrooming of preschools in the city. Currently there are an estimated 400 preschools in Ahmedabad (pop. 6 million) — most of — them franchised centres of well-known national preschool chains.

Therefore it’s unsurprising that the inaugural EW Ahmedabad Pre-school Rankings 2013 league table is dominated by franchised pre-primaries of premier national ECCE (early childhood care and education) providers. Top-ranked EuroKids, Satellite Town and EuroKids, Vastrapur (#5) are franchisees of EuroKids International which boasts a network of  800 preschools in 311 urban habitats across India. Kidzee, Thakkarnagar (#4) is a franchisee of the Mumbai-based Kidzee (Zee Learn Ltd), which has 900 centres in 330 cities countrywide, and The Tree House, Vastrapur (#7), is a franchisee of Mumbai-based The Tree House which has a network of 410 ECCE centres in 50 cities nationwide.

The Ahmedabad database of 199 respondents which included preschool parents and teachers/principals top-ranked EuroKids, Satellite (estb. 2001) #1 on five of the 10 parameters of ECCE excellence — teacher competence, infrastructure provision, leadership quality, special needs education, and value for money. “The entire team is enthused by our #1 ranking. The secret of our success is the excellent facilities and joyful environment we offer children. We take great pains to ensure that the norms and best practices of EuroKids head office are followed and standards maintained,” says founder-principal Beula Canara, an alumna of Sambalpur University with an MBA from Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi, and former teacher in the city’s Mount Carmel and St. Kabir schools, who promoted this preschool a decade ago.

Ranked #2 among Ahmedabad’s top ranked preschools 2013 is Calorx Preschool, Maninagar (estb. 2009) — a franchisee of the local Calorx Group which includes 14  preschools, eight K-12 Calorx Public schools spread across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, and Calorx Teachers University. Promoted four years ago by Mrunal Desai, an alumnus of St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad, and Hertfordshire University, UK, who worked with HSBC Bank, London, before returning to Ahmedabad in 2008, Calorx, Maninagar, is rated #1 on the parameters of innovative teaching, teacher welfare and development and individual attention to students.

“The credit goes to the entire team which has worked tirelessly to implement core values of the Calorx Group which has given us great support in implementing best ECCE practices, and to our parents’ community for reposing faith in us. Right from inception, our focus has been on training teachers to provide individualised learning to children through innovative pedagogies. Therefore I am gratified that our investment of time, money and effort towards creative teaching, teacher welfare and development, and individual attention to students has been appreciated,” says Desai, promoter-director of Calorx, Maninagar which has an enrollment of 100 students mentored by 11 teachers (tuition fee: Rs.32,000 per year).

Also read: Kalorex Group of Institutions: Forging a legacy of Pre-K-12

Calorx, Maninagar is followed by Shanti Juniors, Prahladnagar ranked #3 (a franchisee preschool of the Ahmedabad-based Shanti Juniors which has 115 centres countrywide); Kidzee, Thakkarnagar (4); EuroKids, Vastrapur (5); Calorx, Isanpur (6); The Tree House, Vastrapur (7); Rising Kids, Rajpath Club Road (8); Rangoli Preschool, Bopal (9) — franchisee of Ahmedabad-based Rangoli which has 29 centres in Gujarat and Maharashtra — and KLAY, Satellite (10), an owned preschool of the Bangalore-based VBHC Education Services, promoters of  KLAY centres in Bangalore and Gurgaon.

To read Ahmedabad’s top ranked preschools 2013 league table, visit http://www.educationworld.in/rank-preschool/ahmedabad/2013.html