EducationWorld February 2024

EW Grand Jury India Preschool Rankings 2024-25

Introduced in 2018, the EducationWorld Grand Jury India Preschool Rankings felicitate pre-primaries that have introduced contemporary pedagogies and practices in early childhood care and education (ECCE).

To shortlist and select progressive preschools countrywide, we invited nominations from educationists, individuals and schools themselves, supported by evidence of best practices in ten categories — teacher-parent-student engagement, campus design, […]

Swami Vivekanand International School: Holistic Development Programmes for Children

“Holistic Horizons: Nurturing Well-Rounded Students”
– Amrita Varma, Principal, Swami Vivekanand International School, Borivali

In the dynamic and pulsing heart of Mumbai sits an oasis of education—a CISCE-affiliated school that stands as a fortress of holistic development. Here, education is more than just an accumulation of knowledge; it is a symphony of progress, joy, and […]

Rhodes Global Scholar from Sarala Birla Academy, Bangalore

Sapolnach Prompiengchai an alumni of Sarala Birla Academy is one of the two Rhodes Global Scholar Elects for 2024. Rhodes Scholarship is considered among the world’s most prestigious international scholarship programs for admission to Oxford University. The Global scholarship was introduced in 2019 and is available to candidates from anywhere in the world. It covers […]

A day with Paatikar in Barak Valley- Anant National University Outreaches to North East

Dr Sukamal Deb, Lead, Anant Centre for Documentation and Design of Crafts (ACDC), Anant National University

In one of the coolest dawns of 2024 on Jan 10, I got down at Badarpur rail junction from Dibrugarh Agartala Express with a mission to meet the Paatikar (Cool mat artisans) of Barak Valley, Assam. My destination was Ratanpur, […]

Emerald Heights sets three world records: 41148 paintings on Shri Ram’s life journey

Emerald Heights International School is delighted to announce that the Association of Unaided CBSE Schools, Indore Sahodaya Schools Complex, and Indore Municipal Corporation collectively achieved three World Records by showcasing 41,148 paintings depicting the life journey of Shri Ram on January 19, 2024, at Dusshera Maidan, Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

Certified by renowned authorities such as the […]

DN Wisdom Tree Global School: Nurturing sustainable development goals through holistic education

SDG-3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
SDG-4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
SDG-5 is to: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
SDG-11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
SDG-13: Take urgent action to combat […]

Schools of Eminence: The DN Wisdom Tree Global School, Bhubaneswar

The DN Wisdom Tree Global School (TDNWTGS) is a state-of-the-art co-educational CBSE school in Bhubaneswar that aims to provide quality education to children till Grade XII. It is committed towards benchmarking education at the highest level by making available the best student development practices. The school provides a centre for excellence in school education, where […]

School of Eminence: Blue Bells Model School, Sector 4 Gurugram

Sited in the heart of Gurugram opposite Sri Ram Park, the flagship Blue Bells Model School, Sector 4 (BBMS, estb. 1980) of the eponymous group, has over the years built an excellent reputation in the national capital region for providing well-balanced holistic education rooted in Indian values and spirituality. Currently BBMS has 1,600 students mentored […]

Set ball rolling in judicial reforms

The latest supreme court verdict in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape and multiple murder case which dates back to the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat, has somewhat redeemed the image of the apex court which has failed to mandate the root and branch judicial reforms which independent India patiently awaits. An estimated 4,000 citizens of India’s […]

EW Grand Jury India Preschool Rankings 2023-24

Introduced in 2018, the EducationWorld Grand Jury India Preschool Rankings felicitate pre-primaries that have introduced contemporary pedagogies and practices in early childhood care and education (ECCE).

To shortlist and select progressive preschools countrywide, we invited nominations from educationists, individuals and schools themselves, supported by evidence of best practices in ten categories — teacher-parent-student engagement, campus design, […]

LETTER FROM AMERICA: Promising revelation

Dr Larry Arnn, President, Hillsdale College, USA

As I wrote in my last despatch, at Hillsdale College, we are working to become involved with education in India. We are excited by this prospect because we love to teach, because India is important, and because there are profound commonalities between our countries.

As I wrote last time, India […]

The future of work

Rajesh Mehta

V. Badri-Paul

2024 is promising in terms of work-life balance, greater workplace diversity, incremental adoption of artificial intelligence and climate change practices. This trend is likely to continue.

In 2023, the world pushed aside the ghosts of the pandemic, and rebooted. However, remote-work habits acquired in the pandemic have survived. In addition, […]

Advice to Adani

Seems like billionaire infrastructure to consumer products tycoon Gautam Adani heeded repeated EW advice to mount a counter-offensive to the Hindenburg Research report of January 24, 2023 which plunged the market cap of Adani Group companies listed on the National Stock Exchange from Rs.192 lakh crore on January 24 to Rs.68 lakh crore on […]

Bad ad for Raymond Man

Although the media has adopted a neutral position on the issue of the widely reported divorce drama between Gautam Singhania, big boss of the Mumbai-based Raymond Ltd — billed as the world’s largest men’s suiting manufacturer — and his wife of 32 years Nawaz Mody, there’s undoubtedly a nasty streak in this textiles tycoon who […]

Ram Rajya Paradox

Undoubtedly after consecration of the resplendent new Ram Temple in Ayodhya preceded by inauguration of the new Parliament building in Delhi and several high-profile infrastructure projects all over the country, 21st century India is experiencing a long overdue renaissance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes that with the Ram Temple constructed in Ayodhya the nation […]

Engaging romances

ONE WAY TO LOVE ; LOVING YOU TWICE; THREE TIMES LUCKY (Jasmine Villa Series)
Andaleeb Wajid
westland publications
Rs.399
Pages 276; 296 & 290

Romance stories written by Muslim women published in women’s magazines enjoy phenomenal popularity among Urdu readers

Andaleeb Wajid, a young Bangalore-based, hijab-wearing woman, who has written over 40 novels in genres ranging from […]

Rural realities

The Indian village: Rural lives in the 21st century
Surinder S. Jodhka
Aleph Book Company
Rs.799
Pages 279

This book details the relationship between land reforms, green revolution, rising agricultural production and the emergence of marginalised people

India’s 600,000 villages represent a vast terrain, full of diversity in natural settings, social structure, cultural life, economic conditions, and […]

Canada: Medium of instruction tax

Quebec premier François Legault: language chauvinism revival

McGill University, one of Canada’s top-ranked higher education institutions, is warning that a provincial policy to discourage English-language instruction through sharp tuition fee hikes is threatening its existence.

The move by Quebec premier François Legault “puts the university’s very future in question”, McGill said in issuing an estimate […]

South Korea: Internationalisation Drive

Foreign students in Korea: more than welcome

Foreigners are among the more than 4,000 who make up Yonsei University’s 39,000-strong student body, their presence attesting to the fact that Yonsei’s name, hallowed in Korea, carries weight far outside the country, too. Known as one of the troika of the nation’s top “SKY universities” (alongside […]

China: Accommodation Squeeze

Rapid expansion of postgraduate enrolment is forcing Chinese universities to abandon their “boarding school” model of providing on-campus accommodation for all students.

Institutions have long provided subsidised dormitories, which cost significantly less than private off-campus options. At Fudan University, for example, on-campus accommodation costs Master’s students between 800 yuan (Rs.9,600) and 1,600 yuan annually, while a […]

France: Discriminatory legislation

President Macron (right) & PM Borne: second thoughts

France’s newly passed hard-line immigration law will repel international students and stifle French research, warn education leaders. The controversial new legislation approved by the French parliament in December, divided President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance party, while the far-right, anti-immigration politician Marine Le Pen, leader of National […]

Young Achievers

Young Achiever: Haazik Kaizi

Nasrin Modak Siddiqi (Mumbai)

A class XII student of the wholly residential Hotchkiss School in Connecticut (USA), Haazik Kaizi (17) is a young environment activist battling oceanic plastic pollution. His smart ship christened Ervis uses centripetal force, a multistage cleaner and compactor to sustainably and responsibly cleanse the seas of plastic waste. Last September, Haazik was […]

United States: Academic Crucifixion

By surrendering to a political mob despite the apparent protection of the world’s most powerful university, Claudine Gay has set a precedent that has left academics wondering who can possibly survive the rising ideological crusades of America.

On January 2, Prof. Gay stepped down as president of Harvard University after six months of stifling pressure from […]

Young Achievers

Young Achiever: Aryan Rajvanshi

Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)

Ahmedabad-based Aryan Rajvanshi (16) is a teenage prodigy representing the growing tribe of social innovators countrywide. Last November, a six-minute documentary video featuring his breakthrough innovation MechaCrop was showcased at the United Nations’ Global Impact Summit — a global initiative to support young innovators — in New York (USA). MechaCrop integrates AI and […]

19th Anniversary Essay

From mosque to temple: An Indian tragedy

– Rajiv Desai
The consecration of the Ram temple was presided by the prime minister himself like a medieval priest before an audience comprising the country’s who’s who. It was a collective takedown of India’s precious secular ethos

Nearly 75 years after India awoke “to life and freedom”, Jawaharlal Nehru, who uttered these stirring words celebrating India’s […]

Education Briefs

Mahindra-La Trobe concordat
Delhi ncr/hyderabad, january 23. Mahindra University and La Trobe University, Australia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), for upgrading the education of civil engineering students. This strategic collaboration includes a four-year programme, a cohesive student exchange initiative, and faculty exchange programmes. It will offer Mahindra University students opportunity to complete the […]

Education Notes

Bihar

Coaching centres caveat

Patna, january 2. The state’s education ministry has threatened stringent action against government schoolteachers associating with private coaching centres. In a letter addressed to district magistrates, the ministry’s additional chief secretary K.K. Pathak requested them to obtain written undertakings from all private coaching centres within their jurisdiction affirming that “no government school teachers […]

What’s wrong with K-12 education & how to right it

To harness India’s demographic dividend — 500 million children and youth below age 34 — it is critical that we identify weaknesses in our K-12 system and fix them pronto. An overview of the deep-rooted problems of Indian school education with some remedial solutions writes Sridhar Rajagopalan

In the emerging hyper-competitive global marketplace where the quality […]

They said it

“Deeply regret the passing of Dr. Jagdish Gandhi, founder-chairman of the Lucknow-based City Montessori School, acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest single city multi campus school with over 57,000 students. Dr Gandhi was among the first to encourage the novel EducationWorld venture and a committed supporter throughout his life. From modest beginnings […]

West Bengal: Reckless Neglect

Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata)

Released on January 17, the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023 ‘Beyond Basics’ of the highly respected Pratham Education Foundation paints a dismal picture of the pitiable condition of school education in West Bengal (pop.91 million), a state that prides itself on its intellectual prowess. In Bengal, ASER 2023 field tested […]

Maharashtra: Discriminatory recognition

Nasrin Modak-Siddiqi (Mumbai)

Responding to a query filed under the Right to Information Act, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has disclosed that 218 primary schools, including some highly reputed private primary schools in Mumbai — Anandilal Podar, Santacruz; St. Michaels, Mahim; St. Andrews Primary, Bandra; St. Aloysius, Santacruz; Alexandra Girls, Fort; Rustomjee Troopers (Dahisar), and Gloria […]

Delhi: Dismal Picture

Autar Nehru (Delhi)

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) published every year by the independent not-for-profit Pratham Education Foundation (estb.1995) usually field tests primary school (classes I-VIII) children in rural India to measure their real learning outcomes. An army of over 1 lakh volunteers — mainly college and university students — test the reading and […]

Karnataka: Coaching industry curbs

Reshma Ravishanker (Bengaluru)

Against the backdrop of rising student suicides being reported from Kota, Rajasthan — the tests prep capital of India where 26 secondary students committed suicide last year, the highest ever annually — the Union ministry of education has been under pressure to rein in the unchecked growth of the Rs.58,000 crore coaching classes […]

Ram Mandir: What teachers should teach

Contrary to the assertions of die-hard Left influenced secularists and regressive Muslim leaders, the smooth establishment and consecration of the resplendent Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22 will strengthen Hindu-Muslim harmony rather than damage it. As such, it bodes well for snuffing out the embers of communal fires lit by Muslim warlords from Central […]

Letter from the Editor

Even as the Great leader and the acclamatory establishment, including academics who should know better, are predicting best days ahead for the Indian economy which is all set to emerge as the world’s third largest — never mind population advantage and pathetic per capita income data — the country seems to be oblivious that the […]

Mailbox

Neglect outcome
Your cover story analysing the reasons why India pulled out of PISA 2022 (EW January) was well argued.
Let’s face it! The time has come for India to accept that years of education neglect has resulted in poor student learning outcomes. We need to devise strategies to overhaul teaching-learning. Running away from competition […]

St. Mary’s High School depicts ‘Inclusion’ through its Annual Day

“Self Study ls The Best Study” says Mr. Bharat Malik, Chairman of AryaGlobal Group of Schools. St. Mary’s welcomes the Government’s decision to close tuition classes that admit children below 16 years. Teachers vow to strengthen students’ base.

St.Mary’s High School, Chakki Naka, Kalyan organised their Annual Day 2023-24 in Savitribai Phule Auditorium, Dombivili. A drama […]

Groundbreaking Foundational Literacy & Numeracy Lab at Navrachana Vidyani Vidyalaya

Dr Archana Mishra, Principal, Navrachana Vidyani Vidyalaya

In a remarkable stride towards reshaping early education, our school Navrachana Vidyani Vidyalaya, Vadodara has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by creating the world’s first Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Lab. According to the National Educational Policy 2020 ‘the ability to read and write, and perform basic operations with numbers, is […]

Happening IBCP: The need for tomorrow

Pratima Sinha, CEO, DSR Educational Society Hyderabad

The right kind of education should be able to create thinking individuals, provide self-awareness/self-knowledge, to discover lasting values and give a platform to be able to stand independently with confidence.

Today the greatest need of every student is to have an all rounded ,integrated and comprehensive understanding of the future […]