Page 238 - EW September 2025 Final

Cover Story EW CO-ED DAY-CUM-BOARDING SCHOOLS RANKINGS 2025-26

INDIA’S MOST RESPECTED

DAY-CUM-BOARDING SCHOOLS

Day-cum-boarding schools offer excellent student body co-educational, which allows siblings
diversity and superior infrastructure with enhanced sports to study together while also dispens-
ing early lessons in gender equality
and recreational facilities provided to keep boarders and mutual respect, especially to
engaged beyond school hours. Day scholars benefit by way male students. Backed by a wave of
of a more balanced holistic education experience well-educated and progressive school
promoters entering the K-12 sector,
the growth of day-cum-boarding
schools continues to accelerate. Little
wonder that their number in EWISR
2025-26 has grown to 209, a 13 per-
cent increase over last year.
At top table, there is no change in
the seating order this year. For the
fourth year running, the superbly
equipped Emerald Heights Inter-
national School, Indore, Mad-
hya Pradesh (EHIS, estb. 1984) is
ranked India’s #1 day-cum-boarding
school by a wide margin. Evidently,
Madhya Pradesh (pop.89 million)
routinely numbered among India’s
most backward BIMARU (Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Ut-
tar Pradesh) states, is eager to resign
its membership of this club.
EHIS is followed by the Sans-
Emerald Heights, Indore: top-ranked four years consecutively. Inset: Siddharth Singh kaar Valley School (estb.2006)
based in Bhopal (the admin capital
ay-cum-boarding schools also benefit from these resources, of Madhya Pradesh). Top table is
are rapidly mushroom- resulting in a more balanced and completed by DPS, Vasant Kunj
ing across India, becom- holistic education experience. ranked #3 (#3 in 2024-25); the
Ding increasingly popular Located mostly on greener out- reclusive Pallikodam, Kottayam
with the country’s fast multiplying skirts of India’s poorly planned met- (Kerala) #4 (3), and Yadavindra
post-liberalisation upper middle and ropolitan areas, day-cum-boarding Public School led by the formi-
elite households. By hosting a mix of schools are increasingly favored by dable Major Gen. (Retd) T.P.S.
local day scholars and boarders from affluent families in traffic-congested Wairach promoted to top table at
distant cities, small towns, and even cities. To avoid the stress of long #5 (6) this year.
overseas, these schools offer excel- daily commutes, many parents now A finance and business manage-
lent student body diversity. Com- choose to enrol their children as ment alumnus of the blue-chip Stony
pared with traditional day schools, weekly boarders — students who Brook University, New York with
they also tend to offer superior live on campus during the week and an institutional leadership diploma
infrastructure, with enhanced sports return home for the weekends. from the Harvard Graduate School of
and recreational facilities designed Another defining feature of these Education, over the past decade since
to keep boarding students engaged modern institutions is that they are he took charge of EHIS promoted by
beyond school hours. Day scholars overwhelmingly mixed gender, i.e, his parents way back in 1984, Sid-

238 EDUCATIONWORLD SEPTEMBER 2025