A representative sample of 360 SEC A preschool parents and teachers/principals has voted Kangaroo Kids, Bandra the city’s No.1 preschool for the third year. But the Top 20 league table has been rearranged. Here are Mumbai’s top ranked preschools for the year 2012:

This year the preschool league tables of the south-eastern port city of Chennai and the western seaboard metropolis of Mumbai (pop. 12.4 million) — India’s commercial capital — are mirror images of each other. While the premier rank has been retained by the same preschool (Kangaroo Kids, Bandra) for the third consecutive year since in the cause of arousing public awareness about the vital importance of early childhood education (ECE) EducationWorld initiated the India preschool rankings in 2010, as in Chennai the rest of the Mumbai Top 20 league table has witnessed considerable churn.

Deftly steered by Swati Popat Vats, president of the Podar Jumbo Kids group of 157 owned and franchised preschools countrywide and promoter-president of the Early Childhood Association (see intro p.38), Podar Jumbo Kids, Santacruz ranked No.12 in 2010 and fifth last year has zoomed to No. 2 in the esteem of Mumbai’s discerning public with high scores under the parameters of individual attention to children and leadership. While the well-known Casa Bambino, Bhulabhai Desai Road has retained its consistent No. 3-4 ranking, The Tree House, Goregaon (West) has continued its steady ascent up the Mumbai league table to be ranked No. 4 (No.10 in 2011) this year.

However this impressive rise in reputation has been eclipsed by the spectacular debut of three previously unranked preschools — Little Palms, Babulnath, Leapbridge International, Sion (East) and Silvabrook (formerly Head Start, Bandra) at No. 4, 6 and 7 respectively. EuroKids, Andheri (Lokhandwala) No. 8 (9), Besant Montessori,   Juhu  No. 9 (15), and West Wind, Gamdevi No. 10 (3) tied with Children’s Nook, Gamdevi (13) complete the Top 10 table with Kangaroo Kids, Santacruz (West)  ranked No. 11.

“It’s very satisfying to be ranked Mumbai’s top preschool for the third year in succession. I attribute this gratifying ranking to our highly competent teachers committed to readily adopting innovative teaching practices, parental involvement and our focus on providing special needs facilities to differently-abled children. Moreover in Mumbai where space is a major constraint, we have continuously upgraded and improved our infrastructure. All these initiatives are reflected in the parameter scores awarded by  respondents to your survey,” says Lina Ashar, the Africa-born, Australia-educated founder-director of Kangaroo Kids Education Ltd which comprises 118 preschools and 14 K-12 schools countrywide under the owned and franchised models. The first preschool to be promoted by Ashar in 1993, Kangaroo Kids, Bandra (annual tuition fees: Rs.57,800-60,900) has an aggregate enrolment of 275 children mentored by 35 teachers.

Prriety Gosalia, a child psychology, education management and multiple intelligences alumna of Bombay University, NMIS and the Multiple Intelligences Institute, Singapore and currently chief operating officer and head of academics of the Leapbridge International group of three preschools in Pune and Mumbai’s Leapbridge International, Sion (East) which has debuted at No. 6 in Mumbai this year, is “unexpectedly delighted” by this new (estb. 2011) preschool’s high debut ranking. “We have established three Leapbridge preschools in Pune with a total enrolment of 363 children, which have built themselves excellent reputations. With Mumbai and Pune fast becoming twin cities, the good reputation of the Pune schools has obviously rubbed off on our recently inaugurated school in Mumbai,” says Gosalia.

According to Gosalia, Leapbridge’s corporate-style management (Leap-bridge is promoted by Navneet Ltd, a company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange), innovative curriculums based on Multiple Intelligences theory, continuous teacher training and strong emphasis on child safety and hygiene, have impressed parents’ communities in Pune/Mumbai. “We are very encouraged by the feedback received from our parent communities and have drawn up advanced plans to increase the number of Leapbridge preschools in Maharashtra to 30 within the next three years,” she adds.

Further down the Top 20 league table while Camlin Alpha Kids, Andheri (W) and Kids ‘N’ Krayons, Lokhandwala, Andheri (W) have made impressive debuts at No. 12 and 15, previously highly-ranked nurseries like Headstart, Prarthana Samaj and Saifee Nursery, Malabar Hill have failed to maintain their previous high rankings. Quite obviously, with greater awareness of the vital importance of qualitative early childhood education dawning upon all sections of society, particularly the newly-affluent and vastly expanded post-liberalisation middle class of India’s commercial capital, effective demand for preschools with globally benchmarked infrastructure and well-trained teachers, has prompted entrepreneurial response. Hence the large number of new  previously unranked schools including Serra International, Colaba and Iken Brain-e-Kids, Andheri (East) which have also debuted in this year’s tables.

To read Mumbai’s top ranked preschools 2012 league table click userfiles/Mumbai-Master.pdf

To read Parameters of Excellence: Mumbai’s Top Preschools userfiles/Mumbai-Parameters.pdf