Page 39 - EW September 2024

India’s — indeed Asia’s — first educa- Wipro FMCG, IndusInd Bank, Abbott
tion magazine launched the annual Pharmaceuticals, Polycab and Nova
EducationWorld India School Rank- IVF.
ings (EWISR) to enable parents to “In departure from past practice,
assess the relative merits of schools for EWISR 2024-25 we have deliber-
in their cities and beyond, on care- ately chosen a smaller but adequate
fully ideated parameters of primary- number of 8,700 respondents com-
secondary education excellence. This prising 5,150 parents of school-going
enabled them to shortlist, even if not children and 3,550 educationists,
select, schools best aligned to the apti- teachers and education counsellors
tudes and special intelligences of their in 22 states countrywide and inter-
children. viewed them one-on-one, i.e, face-to-
Since then the annual EWISR pre- face or telephonically. Thus we have
sented to the public uninterruptedly eliminated cluster, group and writ-
for the past 17 years, has been continu- ten interviews sacrificing quantity
ously refined and has evolved into the for interview depth. Moreover, our
world’s — yes, the world’s — largest Mishra: broad-based sample parents sample includes both SEC
and most comprehensive schools (socio-economic category) ‘A’ and ‘B’
ranking survey. This year’s EWISR several self-styled education maga- households to make the survey more
rates over 4,000 schools under three zines are publishing pale imitations of broad-based. Interviewees in 34 cities
major heads — day, boarding, and in- the annual EWISR, and given the low were requested to award schools with
ternational — and 14 sub-categories respect accorded by the law and soci- whom they were acquainted — schools
(to eliminate apples and oranges type ety to intellectual property, are getting unfamiliar to at least 20 respondents
comparisons) in 458 cities and towns away with it. But to be honest, we are were eliminated from the rankings —
across India. not overly concerned because imita- scores up to 100 on 14 parameters of
T outcome of the annual EW- However the equivalence accorded by 200 under the parameter of ‘teacher
tion is often the best form of flattery.
school education excellence and up to
HE SOCIALLY BENEFICIAL
competence’ as ideated and evolved
leaders of a surprising number of top-
ISR which is followed by a
gala event staged in Delhi ranked schools to imitative cut-and- by EducationWorld during the past 17
paste pretender magazines is a matter
years. The scores awarded to schools
NCR, is that it has totally changed the of considerable disappointment. by the knowledgeable sample respon-
landscape of K-12 education in India. Be that as it may, EWISR 2024-25 dents under 14 sub-categories (co-ed
Top-ranked schools in every sub- is a watershed survey inasmuch as it day, boys day, girls day, day-cum-
category in 458 cities, 28 states and marks the end of a 17-year-old associa- boarding, co-ed boarding, girls board-
nationally are felicitated and awarded tion between EducationWorld and the ing etc) were totaled to rank schools in
trophies and certificates. Gurgaon-based Centre for Forecasting each sub-category. Schools are ranked
Suddenly schools in every catego- & Research Pvt. Ltd (C fore), a mar- nationally, in their host states and
ry, sub-category, town and city coun- ket research agency which had hith- city-wise. I believe EWISR 2024-25
trywide, are competing to improve erto conducted field-based research provides parents and students a reli-
scores awarded by knowledgeable for the annual EWISR. The facts and able and accurate overview of the rela-
national sample respondents under circumstances which led to the abrupt tive merits of India’s top 4,000-4,500
each parameter which when added termination of the long-standing re- primary-secondary schools,” says
up determines national, state and city lationship by C fore are in the public Shubra Mishra, Promoter-Director
rankings. domain and sub judice. of AZ Research Partners whose field
As has proven time and again in ev- In retrospect this messy divorce research personnel conducted the sur-
ery walk of life, competition is the best and subsequent legal tangles have vey over three months (May-July).
incentive to improve quality of goods proved a blessing in disguise. It has An alumna of IIM-Lucknow with
and services. resulted in a new partnership con- wide experience of market research
Inevitably the runaway success of tracted with AZ Research Partners (MARG, MARG-ORG) and corporate
EducationWorld and the annual EW- Pvt. Ltd (AZR, estb.2002), a Benga- sector (Titan, Tata Tea and Blackstone
ISR has prompted several pretender luru-based market research company Synovate), Mishra’s acceptance of our
publications to plagiarise our design, which over the past two decades has offer of partnership for conducting
architecture and methodology. Pa- established an excellent reputation field research for EWISR has invest-
tently unable and/or unqualified to for rigorous market research. Among ed the world’s largest schools ranking
match the intellectual content of EW, AZR’s corporate clients: Mars Global, survey with additional reliability and

SEPTEMBER 2024 EDUCATIONWORLD 39