Pune’s long tradition of academic scholarship has prompted its citizens to readily embrace early childhood care and education. Over the past decade in particular, a substantial number of private preschools have mushroomed citywide. Here are Pune’s top preschools for the year 2016.

The second most important industrial hub of Maharashtra — India’s most industrialised state accounting for 13 percent of the manufacturing output of India — Pune (pop. 3.1 million) is also the academic and cultural epicentre of the state, hosting several new-age industries as well as top-ranked institutions of higher education, including Fergusson College (estb.1885), College of Engineering (1854), the Film & Television Institute of India, apart from the Pune and Symbiosis universities. The city’s public and private institutions of higher education attract large numbers of students from India and abroad. 

Pune’s long tradition of academic scholarship has prompted its citizens to readily embrace early childhood care and education (ECCE). Over the past decade in particular, a substantial number of private preschools have mushroomed to cater to rising demand from upwardly mobile IT and new-age industry professionals for high-quality ECCE.

 In the EW Pune Preschool Rankings 2016, 573 parents with preschool children, teachers and principals were interviewed by C fore field researchers. They have crowned Leapbridge International, Kalyani Nagar and Primrose Nursery, Koregaon Park, jointly the city’s #1 proprietary preschools and EuroKids, Kalyani Nagar the #1 franchised pre-primary.

Owned/Proprietary preschools

Ranked #1 in the composite league table of 2013-14 and again in the segregated owned/proprietary category in 2015, this year Leapbridge International, Kalyani Nagar (estb.2009) is obliged to share the top rank with the Primrose Nursery, Koregaon Park (estb.1984) which has been steadily rising in public esteem (#3 in 2014 and #2 in 2015). The Indus Early Learning Centre, also located in the city’s tony Koregaon Park, which was ranked #1 in the pre-primaries of composite schools category last year (this category has been discontinued this year), has slipped to #2 while Vivero International, Kalyani Nagar and Leapbridge International, Aundh have retained their #3 and #4 rankings. Debuting at #5 is the second Indus Early Learning Centre, Bhosale Nagar in Pune. Both these pre-primaries are promoted by the Indus Trust which has also established the upscale IB-affiliated Indus International schools in Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Prriety Gosalia, chief executive of the Leapbridge International Group of six preschools in Pune and one in Mumbai (Leapbridge, Sion is ranked #3 in the Mumbai proprietary league table) with an aggregate enrolment of 525 students, is delighted that two Leapbridge pre-primaries are ranked among Pune’s Top 5.

“We are absolutely thrilled with our #1 ranking in this competitive category. There is growing awareness within Pune that Leapbridge preschools offer pupils joyful learning environments which are safe and hygienic and are run by qualified and well-trained teachers. The top ranking for parental involvement, value for money and safety and hygiene is validation of our focus areas,” says Gosalia, a child psychology, education management, and multiple intelligences alumna of Bombay University, and the Multiple Intelligences Institute, Singapore.

Beyond the high end of the Pune Top 10 table of proprietary preschools, there’s been a rejig of the pecking order. SERRA International, Aundh has moved up a notch to #6 (#7 in 2015) as have Sapling Nursery, Baner Road and Orange Ivy Playschool, Viman Nagar to #7 (8) and #8 (9) respectively. Jumpstart Preschool, Karve Road (estb.2009) has also improved upon its 2015 #10 rank to be ranked #9 this year while its affiliate Jumpstart, Aundh (formerly Kangaroo Kids, Aundh — ranked #1 in the franchised category in 2015) has debuted in this league table at #11. Two other previously unranked pre-primaries have also debuted this year — Podar Jumbo Kids, Wadgaon Sheri (11) and Lexicon Kids, Viman Nagar (12).

“It’s wonderful news that two Jumpstart preschools are ranked among the Top 11 in Pune. It shows that informed parents and teachers of the city appreciate the new ECCE pedagogies we have introduced. We are one of few pre-primaries in Pune to follow a six-hour day optimally broken into teacher-led activities, free play and relaxation time, and introduce our children to three languages — English, Marathi and Mandarin — at an early age. Moreover, our unique 360 degree Multiple Intelligences theory-based curriculum develops children’s special talents and interests,” says Sneha Tapadia, a business management postgrad of Pune University who co-founded the Jumpstart group of three preschools with her husband Aditya (an alumnus of S.P. Jain Institute of Management, Mumbai) in 2009. Currently, the group has an aggregate enrolment of 300 students instructed by 80 staff including 35 teachers.

Franchised pre-primaries

The 2016 league table of Pune’s most admired franchised pre-primaries has experienced a makeover from last year. The previously #2 ranked EuroKids, Kalyani Nagar (EK-KN) has topped the league table with a total score of 775 followed by Maple Bear Canadian Preschool, Baner Road (754). The latter has risen spectacularly in the public esteem from #7 last year to #2 in 2016 followed by Little Millennium, Viman Nagar at #3 (4).

A franchisee of the Mumbai-based EuroKids International, which has 900-plus franchised preschools in over 350 cities countrywide, EK-KN is top-ranked on the parameters of teacher competency, infrastructure, innovative teaching, safety and hygiene and value for money. “I am thrilled that EuroKids, Kalyani Nagar has been ranked #1 this year. The credit for this success goes to our competent and committed teachers, safe and state-of-the-art infrastructure, child-centric curriculum and involved parents. This recognition will inspire us to continuously improve and strive to provide our children an enjoyable and stress-free learning environment,” says Priya Das, a law graduate of Pune University and former Hindustan Lever executive who switched tracks and promoted EK-KN in 2011. Currently, EK-KN has 40 students and five teachers on its muster roll (tuition fee: Rs.32,000-42,000 per year).

Likewise, Vinita Khaladkar, principal of Maple Bear, Baner Road (estb.2015), a franchisee of Maple Bear India — a joint venture between the Canada-based Maple Bear Global Schools Ltd and Delhi-based Modi Edutech — is delighted with her pre-primary’s swift rise up the league table of Pune’s franchised preschools. “We are overwhelmed by this high ranking and thank the city’s parents and teachers for recognising our efforts and hard work. I attribute our rise in the EW rankings to our excellent infrastructure, well-trained teachers, structured curriculum and teacher-student ratio of 1:15. Our curriculum is modeled on Canada’s globally famous early childhood education programme which encourages children to learn through exploration and experience. I believe this is what sets us apart from others,” says Khaladkar.

Further down, the Pune league table of franchised preschools is dominated by EuroKids with three of its franchisees — EuroKids, Aundh (5), EuroKids, Viman Nagar (6) and EuroKids, Ashok Nagar (9) — improving their 2015 rankings.

To read the EW Pune Preschool Rankings 2016 please visit: http://www.educationworld.in/rank-preschool/pune/2016.html