Somewhat surprisingly in a reportedly conservative society, even under the boarding schools category the lengthiest league table is of co-ed institutions with numbers listed in the gender-segregated boys and girls schools shrinking year by year

Societal preference of mixed gender co-ed schools is evidenced by the rapidly multiplying co-ed schools – including government-promoted schools – countrywide. This is a progressive, socially beneficial phenomenon.

This trend in favour of co-ed education is confirmed by the reality that co-ed schools — day, boarding and international — league tables are the lengthiest in the EducationWorld India School Rankings (EWISR) 2022- 23 survey. And they have been since the unprecedented, detailed annual EWISR was introduced in 2007, and currently rates and ranks the country’s Top 4,000 schools segregated into four main categories — day, boarding, international and vintage legacy (introduced this year) — and 22 subcategories to ensure level playing field and eliminate apples with oranges type inter-sectoral evaluation.

Last month (September) in Part I of the extensive 344-pages EWISR 2022-23, we published detailed league tables rating and ranking the country’s most admired day schools — co-ed, boys and girls. Unsurprisingly, the lengthiest national, state and city league tables were of co-ed day schools with the national league table rating 2,310 schools on 14 parameters of primary-secondary schooling excellence spread over 84 printed pages.

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Curiously, in light of the popular impression that ours is still a conservative society in which social interaction and discourse between girls and boys — especially teens — is not encouraged, even under the boarding schools category the lengthiest league table is of co-ed institutions with numbers listed in the gender-segregated boys and girls schools shrinking year by year.

This trend is a very positive development because as boys and girl children mingle and learn together in same classrooms from early age, they tend to develop mutual understanding and respect, with male children in particular learning appropriate behavioural life skills to accord equality, care and compassion towards fellow girl students. In conservative societies where women are rarely accorded the social and workplace respect that is their fundamental right, co-ed schools foster amicable and respectful behaviour towards girls from young age. More so in the case of co-ed boarding schools where boys and girls not only study but grow up together in campuses normatively well-equipped with co-curricular and sports education facilities.

In every year but one since the annual EWISR was innovated in 2007, sample respondents have overwhelmingly voted the Rishi Valley School, Madanapalle (Andhra Pradesh) established by the globally renowned and venerated educationist, philosopher and seer J. Krishnamurti (1895- 1986) in 1926, the #1 co-ed boarding school countrywide. In the one year RVS was ranked second (2014), the Krishnamurti Foundation-promoted Sahyadri School, Pune was top-ranked.

This year as well, RVS is top-ranked but under a new schema devised by your editors to evaluate schools of over 90 years vintage inter se, RVS has been moved from the general coed boarding to the new vintage legacy co-ed boarding schools sub-category where it is jointly top-ranked with the Lawrence School, Sanawar (estb.1847).

With RVS moved to the new vintage legacy co-ed schools category, the relatively young Chinmaya International Residential School, Coimbatore (CIRS, estb.1989), ranked #2 in the integrated co-ed boarding schools league table of 2021-22, is top-ranked this year.

“Although your decision to segregate vintage and new age boarding schools is rational, it hasn’t made much difference to us because we have always been ranked in the Top 3. Nevertheless, it feels good to be ranked #1 on a level playing field,” says Shanti Krishnamurthy, a maths and education alumna of Madras and Annamalai universities, former principal of the Tata Group-run Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Jamshedpur, Mahindra World School, Chennai and CIRS (2009-18). Currently, Krishnamurthy is global director of the Chinmaya Mission which comprises 86 schools, including seven in Trinidad & Tobago, and nine undergrad colleges with an aggregate enrolment of 101,000 students and 6,000 faculty.

Krishnamurthy is especially pleased that the EWISR 2022-23 sample respondents have awarded CIRS top scores under the parameters of teacher welfare and development, academic reputation, curriculum and pedagogy, and emotional and mental well-being. “In CIRS, we believe these parameters are intimately connected and mutually reinforcing. Therefore, we accord high importance to teacher training driven by our Chinmaya Vision values-based programme that instills professional pride in our teachers’ community. In turn, this improves pedagogy and curriculum delivery with care taken to improve students’ emotional and mental well-being. Indeed ensuring wholesome well-being of our students so that they learn joyfully in enabling environments is the core of our education philosophy in CIRS and all Chinmaya Mission schools and institutions. Ultimately this translates into excellent CBSE and IB board results,” says Krishnamurthy.

Transfer of Rishi Valley School and Lawrence, Sanawar which were hitherto invariably ranked among the Top 5 co-ed boarding schools countrywide, has created headroom for several other new genre co-ed boarding schools to rise and shine.

Therefore, the next gen superblyequipped Assam Valley School, Balipara has improved its rank to #2 this year from #3 in 2021-22. Ditto Pinegrove, Dharampur, Himachal Pradesh to #3 (4), SelaQui International, Dehradun to #4 (5) and Miles Bronson Residential School, Guwahati to #5 (6), a rank it shares with the Anubhuti School, Jalgaon, Maharashtra (15) which has been awarded a big promotion by this year’s sample respondents. It’s also pertinent to note that all the Top 5 are premier co-ed boarding schools in their states, many of whom are more populous than the average European country.

“We are elated to learn that we are India’s second ranked co-ed boarding school with the highest score under the critical parameter of teacher competence. This is certain to shore up the morale of our innovative teachers who train very intensively to improve their professional skills in a remote area of the country. Our top scores under the parameters of co-curricular and sports education are also very encouraging, vindication of our mission to provide well-balanced holistic education to our boys and girls. I am also enthused by our top score under the pastoral care parameter because for residential schools, this is a critically important metric. All in all, our improved rank in EWISR 2022-23 provides ample proof that we are on track to attain the objectives for which AVS was founded 27 years ago,” says Dr. Amit Jugran, an alum of Doon School, Dehradun, Punjab and Meerut universities, former tea planter (1997-2007), ex principal of the Mussoorie Public School (2019-22) and appointed headmaster of AVS earlier this year. Currently, this capital-intensive (#1 under infrastructure parameter) co-ed boarding school affiliated with the Delhi-based CISCE exam board, sprawled over a 235-acre pollution-free campus set within a tea estate, has 700 students and 114 teachers on its muster rolls.

Although most previously respectably ranked co-ed boarding schools have improved their ranking consequent upon several high-ranked schools being transferred to the vintage legacy category, the most spectacular leap forward in the EWISR 2022-23 league table of co-ed boarding schools is of the low-profile Anubhuti School, Jalgaon promoted to #5 from # 15 in 2021-22. Established in 2007 by the late Bhavarlal Hiralal Jain, founder-chairman of the publicly listed Jain Irrigation Ltd, to provide schooling to children in the educationally neglected, water scarce northern region of Maharashtra, over the past 15 years this CISCE-affiliated class V-XII co-ed boarding school has earned an excellent reputation and is ranked #1 in Maharashtra (pop.115 million), India’s most industrialised state.

“This is a big promotion and is certain to motivate our dedicated teachers who deserve the credit for it, as reflected in the high score awarded to us under the parameter of teacher competence. Simultaneously, the high regard we have for our carefully selected and intensively trained teachers is reflected in our good score under teacher welfare and development. Until the Anubhuti School was established 15 years ago, this was an educationally neglected area. Therefore, my much revered father-in-law spared no effort and expense in setting up this state-of-the-art school on a 100-acre campus provided with best facilities for all games and athletics track and field events. Anubhuti is a digitally wired school built to last 100 years and more. I am thankful to your sample respondents for having acknowledged this,” says Nisha Jain, an English graduate of Marathwada University, Aurangabad, former software consultant (1988-93) and currently trustee of Anubhuti School which has an enrolment of 225 boys and girls mentored by 40 teachers.

Further down the Top 10 table, consequent upon introduction of the vintage legacy category, almost all previously high ranked co-ed boarding schools have been awarded promotions in EWISR 2022-23.

The superbly-furbished Jain International School, Bengaluru routinely awarded highest score under the infrastructure parameter, is promoted to #6 from #8 in 2021- 22 jointly with the Kasiga School, Dehradun (8). Punjab Public School, Nabha is also ranked #8 (9), Isha Home School, Coimbatore #9 (11) and Rajghat Besant, Varanasi #10 (11).

However the biggest gains this year have been made by two low-profile ‘guruji’ schools — Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School, Prasanthi Nilayam (Andhra Pradesh) ranked #7 (12) and Isha Home School, Coimbatore #9 (11). Evidently, awareness that children need spiritual education as well is spreading within India’s middle class.

Beyond top table also, several schools have recorded impressive gains in the 63-strong EWISR 2022-23 co-ed boarding schools league table. Among them: SAI International Residential, Cuttack (Odisha) ranked #12 (16); Sagar School, Alwar #14 (18); Taurian World School, Ranchi #15 (17); St. Thomas Residential School, Thiruvanathapuram #16 (19); Abhyasa International, Topran (Telangana) #17 (24). Moreover the previously unranked Mukeshbhai R. Patel Boys & Girls Military School & Jr. College, Shirpur (Maharashtra) is jointly ranked #18 with Blue Mountain School, Ooty (20); De Paul International Residential, Mysuru (Karnataka) #19 (23) jointly with Riverdale International, Pune (21), and the previously unranked Ivy International, Shimla #20.

It’s also pertinent to bear in mind that co-ed boarding schools modestly ranked in the national league table enjoy formidable reputations in their host states, some of them larger and more populous than independent countries. For instance the generously-endowed SAI International, Cuttack is #1 in Odisha (pop. 42 million); Sagar School, Alwar is #1 in Rajasthan (78 million); Taurian World School numero uno in Jharkhand (37 million), and the unsung Abhyasa International, Topran in Telangana (38 million). With parents hesitant about sending their children to distant residential schools after the Covid-19 experience, state rankings have assumed greater relevance.

For full rank, please visit:EW India School Rankings 2022-23 – Top & best schools in India

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