Page 46 - EW September 2025 Final

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

INDIA’S TOP-RANKED right direction. In EWISR 2025-26
which ranks the country’s most well-
reputed schools in three umbrella
CO-ED DAY SCHOOLS categories — Day, Boarding, Inter-
national — and in 14 sub-categories
(e.g, Day co-ed, boys and girls) to
provide a level playing field for
ranked schools by eliminating apples
and oranges type comparisons, over
3,000 Co-ed Day schools are ranked
nationally, in the states and cities.
In this edition of Education-
World, the co-ed day schools nation-
al (restricted to Top 100 schools),
state and city league tables stretch to
over 150 printed pages! However, it’s
important for parents searching for
the most suitable schools for their
children to bear in mind that for day
schools, national rank is of limited
value, and that city/town rankings
are of greater import because of
ease of access. National rankings are
important, but mainly for boarding,
day-cum-boarding and residen-
The Shri Ram School, Delhi NCR: no cause for celebration. Inset: Manika Sharma tial education institutions and for
providing the important stimulus
It’s an indicator that K-12 education in India is of continuous improvement and
progressing in the right direction that the league table of countrywide benchmarking. For day
Day co-ed schools has been the lengthiest in the annual scholars town and city rankings are
of prime importance (see p.52).
EducationWorld India School Rankings since they were In this year’s national league table
introduced in 2007. In EWISR 2025-26 the co-ed day of over 3,000 of India’s most reputed
schools league tables stretch to over 150 printed pages co-ed day schools (for full table see
www.educationworld.in), there has
been considerable churn for two
n terms of learning outcomes classrooms. main reasons. First because our
of children, post-independence This is a progressive, nation- more professional research agency,
India’s K-12 education system building development because when the Bangalore-based AZ Research
Ihas been a disappointment children start learning together from Partners — appointed last year after
with over 50 percent of children, in young age, male children in particu- termination of our association with
class VII of rural primaries unable lar, learn the virtues of empathy, re- C fore — has drawn up a broader
to read class III textbooks or solve spect and gender egalitarianism from respondents’ database. Until 2024,
simple division and multiplication their early years. Moreover when girl sample respondents were drawn
sums. Yet one positive feature is that children learn in co-ed classrooms, from SEC (socio-economic category)
the great majority of the country’s they are better equipped and more ‘A’ — upper middle and elite classes
1.40 million primary-secondary likely to participate in the labour in terms of income and social status.
schools are mixed gender, aka co-ed, force and engage in nation-building However from last year onwards
institutions. Although single gender work outside their homes. the sample respondents database is
boys and girls schools continue to That the league table of Day co-ed more broad-based, a mix of SEC ‘A’
provide K-12 education to children schools is the lengthiest in the annual and SEC ‘B’ respondents.
from conservative and religious EducationWorld India School Rank- Secondly, because for this year’s
households, almost all 1.10 million ings (EWISR) since they were intro- survey we have promoted some
government schools and the majority duced in 2007 is an indicator that schools repeatedly ranked in the Top
of private schools host mixed gender K-12 education is advancing in the 10 to a new Ivy League category.

46 EDUCATIONWORLD SEPTEMBER 2025