Page 58 - EW October 2024

Cover Story EW GIRLS BOARDING SCHOOLS RANKINGS 2024-25

INDIA’S TOP GIRLS BOARDING SCHOOLS

In multi-religious, multi-
cultural, multi-lingual
India, all-girls schools —
especially boarding schools
— discharge a very valuable
nation-building duty. They
thoroughly school girl
children who for reasons
of patriarchy, household
conservatism and religious
injunctions would have been
prevented from accessing
quality primary-secondary
education

Scindia Kanya principal Nishi Misra: model institution reputation
n all democracies worldwide gen-
der segregated K-12 schools have poleon in 1815: “The (decisive) Battle Against this backdrop of attracting
gone out of date. And rightly so. of Waterloo was won on the playing girl children from often conservative
IBecause when boys and girls start fields of Eton.” homes and educating them in pro-
learning together from youngest age, Therefore if girl children in premier gressive, egalitarian environments,
they learn the virtues of mutual re- girls boarding schools are receiving the Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya,
spect and gender egalitarianism, and education on a par with the best boys Gwalior (SKV, estb. 1956) has estab-
also develop positive sentiments such boarding schools, it’s a progressive lished the reputation of a model insti-
as empathy and care. stride towards equality of the sexes, tution. Ranked first or second nation-
In multi-religious, multi-cultural, although it must be accepted that wide in the category of (non-vintage)
multi-lingual and polyglot countries, the percentage of the population who girls boarding schools for the past five
all-girls schools discharge a very can afford to enroll their children in years, and joint #1 in 2023-24, SKV is
valuable nation-building duty. They private girls boarding schools is mi- ranked the sole #1 this year with a for-
thoroughly school girl children who nuscule. midable total score (1324) well ahead
for reasons of patriarchy, household Nevertheless there is high probabil- of Welham Girls, Dehradun, and
conservatism and religious injunc- ity that well-educated girls equipped Ecole Globale International,
tions would have been prevented from with excellent academic, communica- Dehradun (1309) co-ranked #2.
accessing quality primary-secondary tion, co-curricular and sports educa- The composition of top table in
education. tion — that top-ranked girls board- 2024-25 has hardly changed from
This is especially true of upscale ing schools provide — will emerge last year. Unison World School,
girls boarding schools which provide as champions of women’s rights and Dehradun retains its #3 rank, fol-
their privileged girl children excel- lead less privileged women to assert lowed by Mayo Girls, Ajmer and
lent holistic K-12 education on a par their constitutional rights and assume Birla Balika Vidyapeth, Pilani
with the country’s most respected positions of leadership within Indian both ranked #4 (4). The new entrant
boys boarding schools modeled on society. Hence the high importance to top table is the Heritage Girls,
Eton, Harrow and Rugby among oth- accorded to gender segregated girls Udaipur ranked #5 (6).
ers. And it’s useful to remember the schools and girls residential schools “Although we have been high
observation of the Duke of Welling- in particular in the annual Educa- ranked for several years, we aren’t
ton after he famously defeated the tionWorld India School Rankings complacent and are truly honoured
all-conquering French Emperor Na- (EWISR). that a different set of sample respon-

58 EDUCATIONWORLD OCTOBER 2024