Page 50 - Education World Dec 2021

Cover Story EW GIRLS BOARDING SCHOOLS RANKINGS 2021 22

INDIA’S BEST GIRLS BOARDING SCHOOLS

Arguably, boarding schools are additionally nurturing for girl children because they
offer more liberal and modern environments than conservative households in which
girl children routinely suffer overt and covert gender discrimination

ter se on the same parameters as boys
and co-ed schools. Moreover despite
gender segregated schools becoming
passé around the world, in India the
number of all-girls boarding schools
has continued to grow modestly. Pro-
gressive, capital intensive greenfield
girls boarding schools continue to be
promoted, giving older, vintage insti-
tutions in this category stiff competi-
tion. Therefore seating arrangements
at the Top 10 table of the country’s
girls boarding schools tend to change
every year.
n
This year the S c i di K a n y a
a
V idy a l a y a , G w a l ior and the W e l -
h a m G irl s S c h ool , D e h ra du n ,
ranked first and second in 2020-21,
have traded places at top table with
the former co-ranked #2 with M a y o
Welham Girls’ Padmini Sambasivam (centre left): no reservations this time G irl s , A j m e r which retains its last
year’s #2 rank. They are followed by
lthough gender segregated vocations and walks of life. Therefore M u s s oorie I n te rn a tion a l , U t-
education is going out of girls education plays a crucial role in ta ra k h a n d at #3 (4), H op e tow n
fashion worldwide, in In- our society, even if their household G irl s , D e h ra du n #4 (5) and B irl a
Adia, a uniquely heteroge- and societal norms are at variance B a l ik a V idy a p e e th , P il a n i co-

neous nation with citizens practicing with modernisation ideals. ranked #5 (6) with Ec ol e G l ob a l e
almost all major religions, speaking Arguably, boarding schools are ad- I n te rn a tion a l , D e h ra du n (3). It’s
121 languages in 19,500 dialects there- ditionally nurturing for girl children perhaps noteworthy that four of In-
of and observing widely divergent so- because they offer more liberal and dia’s six top-ranked girls boarding
cial interaction norms and traditions modern environments than conserva- schools are sited in Dehradun.
— including full veiling of women in tive households in which girl children Beyond top table there is a rejig
some communities and castes — ex- routinely suffer overt and covert gen- of the Top 10 table. U n i on W orl d
s
clusive girls schools serve a positive der discrimination vis-à-vis male sib- S c h ool , D e h ra du n and idy a D e v i
V
nation-building purpose. But for lings. Moreover in boarding schools J in da l , H is s a r have ceded ground
such schools, millions of girl children girls get greater opportunity to avail while the newly-promoted A v a s a ra
would be deprived of vitally important co-curricular (communication, music, A c a de m y , P u n e (estb. 2015) has
primary-secondary education in a so- dance, theatre) and sports education risen to #8 (10). The Top 10 table is
ciety in which female participation in which are prerequisites of balanced, completed by C on v e n t of J e s u s &
H
the labour force is among the lowest rounded K-12 education. M a ry , M u s s oorie #9 (8) and e ri -
worldwide. Therefore, ab initio since the pio- ta g e G irl s , U da ip u r #10 (9)
Low female participation is not in neer annual EducationWorld India With W e l h a m G irl s S c h ool
the national interest because during School Rankings league tables were (WGS, estb. 1957) restored to its
the past 74 years since independence, introduced in 2007, your editors have “rightful position” as India’s #1 girls
educated middle class women citizens accorded equal, if not higher, impor- legacy boarding school, principal
v
have demonstrated equal capabil- tance to all-girls day and boarding P a dm in i S a m b a s i a m , who ques-
ity and productivity with males in all schools by rating and ranking them in- tioned the adequacy of EWISR 2020-

50 EDUCATIONWORLD DECEMBER 2021