Page 36 - EW November 2024

Cover Story

tors persevered to monitor, comprehensive schools
record and constructively ranking survey and has
criticise the lackadaisical enthused the entire (we
and ponderous initiatives also rate and rank best
of the Union and state gov- Central and state gov-
ernments to raise teaching- ernment schools) K-12
learning standards in pre- sector to adopt globally
primary, primary, secondary best teaching-learning
and higher education which practices to improve chil-
were — and are — lagging far dren’s learning outcomes.
behind global norms. Thus by assiduously
In particular, we have re- tracking and reporting
peatedly been invoking gov- pre-primary, school and
ernment (Centre plus states) higher education news,
to increase annual expendi- institutions and policies,
ture for public education to 6 EW has shifted even if im-
percent of GDP, first recom- perceptibly, the education
mended by the Kothari Com- reforms needle. Although
mission in 1967, going to the EW publisher-editors with Lowell Milken (2005). Inset: Michael dons of academia domi-
extent of presenting a ‘par- Milken: huge debt nated by government
allel budget’ coterminously colleges and universities
with the Union Budget every year. It and the country’s estimated 55,000 tend to be unaware of EW (which
provides a roadmap to the Centre to private preschools. Similarly, strident doesn’t speak well for their market
mobilise an additional Rs.7-8 lakh advocacy of investing school-going intelligence) and are less accessible,
crore for public education. Alas, this and school-leaving children with vo- through consistent advocacy we have
initiative has been met with deafening cational skills and training (VET) has played a significant influencer’s role
silence from the establishment. resulted in VET being accorded high in liberalising the hitherto rigid iso-
importance in NEP 2020.
lationist policy that discouraged for-
N EVERTHELESS, DURING ment is that it has ended routine dis- eign schools and universities from
Another significant EW achieve-
the past quarter century
establishing campuses in India. In
of dogged publishing,
EW has been successful paragement of private sector schools particular, we have enthusiastically
and higher education institutions — a
welcomed new-age private universi-
in moving the needle of legacy of the country’s socialist his- ties that are changing the contours
public policy towards some overdue tory — which had become normative of higher education countrywide, and
reforms in Indian education. For in- in the media and public discourse. EW has been a strong proponent of
stance, we were the first to highlight We highlighted and reiterated the better and closer alignment between
the critical importance of profession- plain truth that it’s India’s estimated higher ed curriculums and India Inc
ally administered early childhood care 450,000 private schools which edu- expectations.
and education (ECCE) for youngest cate 48 percent of the country’s in- In sum, during the past 25 years
children. In 2010 we convened India’s school children, that have kept India’s of uninterrupted publishing, Edu-
first-ever international ECCE Confer- K-12 system afloat. Therefore, in our cationWorld has established a deep
ence in Mumbai and subsequently, we EducationWorld India School Rank- and durable connect with all sectors
introduced the EW India Preschool ings survey (EWISR, estb.2005), we of Indian education. In the following
Rankings and Awards to rank and fe- have never hesitated to acknowledge pages, we present milestone education
licitate the country’s best preschools this reality. events of the past quarter century and
in major cities. In the annual EWISR, 8,000- our comments and campaigns for and
Since then, the EW India Preschool 10,000 educationally aware sample against. The purpose of our 25th An-
Rankings and Awards Conference respondents rate over 4,000 of the niversary cover feature is to enable
has been held every year. An unac- country’s best schools on 14 param- readers — may your tribe increase —
knowledged outcome is that the Na- eters of school education excellence to judge whether we have been faithful
tional Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and rank them in three main and 14 chroniclers of Indian education, and
has made three years of pre-primary sub-categories. And it should be a the extent to which we have influenced
education compulsory for all children matter of national pride that over the public policy for the betterment of the
countrywide in 1.4 million govern- years, the annual EWISR has evolved world’s largest child and youth popu-
ment Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) into the world’s largest and most lation.

36 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2024