Page 42 - EducationWorld Oct. 2022

Cover Story EW CO ED BOARDING SCHOOLS RANKINGS 2022 23

INDIA’S TOP-RANKED CO-ED BOARDING SCHOOLS

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

S
ocietal preference of mixed
gender co-ed schools is evi-
denced by the rapidly mul-
tiplying co-ed schools – in-
cluding government promoted schools
– countrywide. This is a progressive,
socially beneficial phenomenon.
This trend in favour of co-ed edu-
cation is confirmed by the reality that
co-ed schools — day, boarding and
international — league tables are the
lengthiest in the EducationWorld In-
dia 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, board-
ing, international and vintage legacy
(introduced this year) — and 22 sub- Chinmaya Mission director Shanti Krishnamurthy (centre): level playing field #1
categories to ensure level playing field
and eliminate apples with oranges boys and girls schools shrinking year In every year but one since the an-
type inter-sectoral evaluation. by year. nual EWISR was innovated in 2007,
Last month (September) in Part This trend is a very positive de- sample respondents have overwhelm-
I of the extensive 344-pages EW- velopment because as boys and girl ingly voted the i h i a l l e y c h ool ,
s
V
S
R
ISR 2022-23, we published detailed children mingle and learn together in M a da n a p a l l e (Andhra Pradesh) es-
league tables rating and ranking the same classrooms from early age, they tablished by the globally renowned
country’s most admired day schools — tend to develop mutual understand- and venerated educationist, philoso-
co-ed, boys and girls. Unsurprisingly, ing and respect, with male children pher and seer J. Krishnamurti (1895-
the lengthiest national, state and in particular learning appropriate be- 1986) in 1926, the #1 co-ed boarding
city league tables were of co-ed day havioural life skills to accord equality, school countrywide. In the one year
schools with the national league table care and compassion towards fellow RVS was ranked second (2014), the
rating 2,310 schools on 14 parameters girl students. In conservative societies Krishnamurti Foundation-promoted
of primary-secondary schooling excel- where women are rarely accorded the S a h y a dri S c h ool , P u n e was top-
lence spread over 84 printed pages. social and workplace respect that is ranked.
Curiously, in light of the popular their fundamental right, co-ed schools This year as well, RVS is top-ranked
impression that ours is still a conser- foster amicable and respectful behav- but under a new schema devised by
vative society in which social interac- iour towards girls from young age. your editors to evaluate schools of
tion and discourse between girls and More so in the case of co-ed board- over 90 years vintage inter se, RVS
boys — especially teens — is not en- ing schools where boys and girls not has been moved from the general co-
couraged, even under the boarding only study but grow up together in ed boarding to the new vintage legacy
schools category the lengthiest league campuses normatively well-equipped co-ed boarding schools sub-category
table is of co-ed institutions with num- with co-curricular and sports educa- where it is jointly top-ranked with
bers listed in the gender segregated tion facilities. the L a w re n c e S c h ool , S a n a w a r

42 EDUCATIONWORLD OCTOBER 2022