Page 50 - EW October 2025

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

INDIA’S BEST CO-ED BOARDING SCHOOLS

With three consistently top-ranked co-ed boarding schools elevation of three consistently top-
having been elevated to the Ivy League category, there’s ranked co-ed boarding schools to that
elite category, there’s a been a rejig of
been a rearrangement of seats at top table this year the top table seating order this year.
Hitherto, a perennial bridesmaid
ranked #2 in 2021-22 and 2022-23
and #3 last year, the imaginatively
conceived Assam Valley School,
Balipara (AVS), set on a 235 acre
campus within a massive tea estate
in India’s premier superior teas
growing region, is India’s #1 co-ed
boarding school of 2025-26. AVS is
awarded highest score under seven
of the 14 parameters of boarding
school excellence including the criti-
cally important parameters of pas-
toral care and mental and emotional
well-being services.
Amit Jugran, an English litera-
ture graduate of Punjab University
who began his career as manager
in the blue-chip Hindustan Lever
Ltd (1999-2009) before switching
AVS principal Amit Jugran (centre): continuous professional development outcome tracks and serving with Aditya Birla
Public School, AVS and Mussoorie
lthough it’s your editors’ national FLFPR (female labour force Public School, before being recalled
long-standing lament that participation rate), a metric under as headmaster of AVS in 2022, is de-
post-independence India’s which India suffers in comparison lighted that this new genre superbly
Achildren and youth — the with Western as also almost all Asian equipped school has been voted
world’s largest and high-potential countries. Several recent research India #1 this year.
child population — haven’t been studies indicate that if India’s FLFPR “AVS is not only a school that pro-
given the attention and sufficient rate of 33.7 percent improved to vides our 750 students mentored by
official and societal support they equal Asian countries such as China, 114 highly-qualified teachers excel-
deserve, one of the positive devel- Vietnam and Indonesia, India’s an- lent pastoral care which has translat-
opments in K-12 education is the nual GDP growth rate would increase ed into emotional and mental well-
continuous promotion and multipli- by 2 percent which is necessary for being — parameters accorded highest
cation of co-ed schools in which girls India to attain its national goals of importance in AVS — but also
and boys learn side-by-side in mixed Viksit Bharat (‘developed India’) high-quality academic education.
gender environments. and a $30 trillion annual GDP (cf.4 We invest heavily in the continuous
This is a positive development trillion currently) by year 2047 when professional development of our
because when boys and girl children the nation will celebrate its centena- teachers — Rs.15 lakh last year. The
learn together in co-ed classrooms, ry of freedom from foreign (British) outcome is our high scores under the
they develop mutual respect and rule. parameters of teacher competence
learn gender equality and etiquette Against this backdrop, it’s encour- and academic reputation. In short,
from early age. In particular male aging that the league table of India’s our highest scores under critically
children learn to respect and em- most respected co-ed boarding important parameters are proof that
pathise with girls from their early schools comprises more institutions we provide our children balanced,
years. This is likely to reduce crimes than in 2024-25. Moreover, follow- all-round education in a supportive
against women as children grow ing the creation of a new Ivy League ecosystem that enables them to learn
into adulthood and increase the category of boarding schools and joyfully,” says Jugran.

50 EDUCATIONWORLD OCTOBER 2025