Hindustan Times - C fore Top Schools Survey
2012
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
A guide for
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f a road takes too many turns, the best of us get lost. Welcome to Hindustan Times’e-book on Top School Survey 2012, the most credible reference guide on schools. This annual survey, our fourth, done in collaboration with the research agency C fore, is an extensively researched educational product brought out every year that is conducted for Delhi and the National Capital Region with the objective of helping parents negotiate the maze-like, and somewhat confounding, process of choosing, applying and attempting to get their wards admitted to schools in the area. The reports that accompany the Top Ten rankings are published in Hindustan Times. But what is exclusive to the e-book is the ranking of schools vis -vis each of the 14 parameters that we grade schools on. For the first time, we have provided an overall ranking for the region -- one that encompasses schools in all of the Delhi-NCR area: the six zones in Delhi and the adjoining cities of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida. Our Top Schools Survey has also focussed on various issues that affect our schools in the region, be it the new Right to Education law, the plight of government schools or the increasing threat of cyber bullying in schools. That apart, our methodology, modified by our experience of four years, has been further sharpened to give you the best results. Of course, choosing a school for a child is ultimately the decision of parents and guardians and depends on a host of factors. Our aim in this endeavour is to provide you with well-researched qualitative as well as quantitative insights to make that task a bit easier. In case you’ve missed the ongoing survey in Hindustan Times, log on to access the information on the e-book. And, as always, we would encourage you to let us know what you think of it. Your suggestions will help make our annual exercise more meaningful.
r young parents
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
WHERE VALUE FOR MONEY MATTERS Abhijit Patnaik ■ abhijit.patnaik@hindustantimes.com
Faridabad’s infrastructure, though developing, leaves much to be desired. The lack of good roads and cleanliness of areas surrounding schools is a common complaint of school principals we spoke to. The schools themselves provide excellent facilities, but have been playing catch up with Delhi’s schools for a while. Obvious comparisons with the best schools in Delhi, or even Gurgaon and Noida, means the schools here aren’t considered ‘fancy’. schools.But does Faridabad want to follow the model of education seen in Gurgaon and elsewhere of ‘5-star luxury schools’? “I am glad to inform you that so far there is no demand by parents for luxury schools. There are one or two luxury schools which haven’t had a good experience. Faridabad hasn’t given big luxury institutions a warm welcome. Our school is not fully air conditioned, only primary classes are,” said Surindeer Singh Chaudhury, principal, DAV Public school, sector 14. Anju Uppal, principal, Ryan International, Faridabad agrees. “The trend is for normal schools. It is not necessary that if a school has good infrastructure , it will do well”. The Top Ten in the HT-C fore Top Schools survey 2012 looks pretty much the same as last year, save for one change. DAV Public School, Sector 37 has inched into the number ten spot, with St. Joseph’s Convent losing its place in the rankings. Delhi Public School, Faridabad, leads the pack. The school was established in 1995 and excels in various categories, including ‘competence of teachers’, ‘ teacher care and development’ and ‘value for money’. Apeejay School comes second, topping the ‘infrastructure and facilities’, ‘life skills education’ categories, among others.
“We believe in a neighbourhood concept of a school. 80-85% of our students are in the catchment area of 10km,” said Stalin Malhotra, principal, DPS Faridabad. “Parents at our school value the DPS brand. Our system is based on merit and a heterogeneous class adds to interpersonal rapport,” he added. Modern Vidya Niketan, Sector 17, tops the ‘academic rigour’ parameter this year. Another upcoming school, Modern DPS, has educomp smart classes and a 6-bed hospital with a full-time doctor on campus. It tops the ‘individual attention to students’ category. Schools here do keep standards high. “There is regular in-service training and special workshops in different subjects,” said Chaudhury. Parents in Faridabad are particular about value for money. The children are also not as exposed as their counterparts in Delhi. “They are more academics oriented,” said Uppal. Many schools here have extended support to students in the EWS category. “We have an afterschool for students from adjoining areas called Radiant. Around 70 kids come,” said Uppal. At Modern DPS, 15% seats had been reserved for EWS category students even before Right to Education (RTE)law, giving free education to these students. Anandya Bajaj, a class 10 student at DPS, Faridabad, said “I think RTE is good, it is better for the country. We are privileged and hence we should take care of those in need”. Noble words indeed. As parents compare fee structures, facilities, teacher — student ratios to determine which school is best for their child, we asked Arpita Tripathi, Class 8 student at Ryan International why she likes her school so much. The answer? “Other school students have to tie 2 pony-tails, but we have no such rules,” she said, shyly.
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top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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TOP SCHOOLS OF FARIDABAD
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The 2012 Hindustan Times-C fore Top Schools Survey gave scores to each school across 14 different parameters, from academic rigour to sports. Here is a list of schools ranked in the Top Ten in Faridabad
DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, FARIDABAD
The school provides global exposure through international exchange programmes and trips. They also organise workshops and life skill sessions for the students. It has topped the ‘competence of teachers’, ‘teacher care and development’ and ‘extracurricular activities’ and ‘value for money’ categories. www.dpsfbd.com
0129-2284535
R 63,580 per annum
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APEEJAY SCHOOL
Across a sprawling green 9 acre campus, the school houses a spacious auditorium, a swimming pool, two cemented basketball courts, a skating rink and multipurpose field. The school has the highest scores on the ‘infrastructure and facilities’, parental participation’ and ‘sports’ parameters. www.apeejay.edu
0129-2284535
R 70,000 per annum
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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MODERN VIDYA NIKETAN, SECTOR 17
This is one of the most sought after schools in Faridabad. With a spacious campus housing over 2500 students, the school believes in multifaceted growth.The school has topped the ‘academic rigour’ category and has the second highest ‘value for money’, ‘competence of teachers’, ‘teacher care and development’ scores. www.mvneducation.com
0129-4072696
R82,728 per annum
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MODERN DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL
The school has its arsenal well equipped with its wide range of informative books, CD’s and a multimedia lab with a large movie screen. It has the second highest score on the ‘individual attention to students’ parameter and has done well in ‘academic rigour’, ‘infrastructure and facilities’ and ‘safety and hygiene’ as well. www.moderndps.org
0129-2229277
R 62,700 per annum
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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MANAV RACHNA INTERNATIONAL, SECTOR 14
The school employs methods to make learning fun through the introduction of the smart class programme, educational trips, summer workshops and theme assemblies. The school has topped the ‘extra curricular activities’, ‘individual attention to students’,’innovative teaching’ and ‘safety and hygiene’ parameters. www.mris.edu.in
0129-4198500
R 76,800 per annum
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DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL, SECTOR 14
The DAV School campus is spread across 7.5 acres. It provides modern facilities like a well-equipped gymnasium, skating rink etc retaining its roots in traditions and culture. The school tops in the ‘sports’ and ‘value system/integration’ categories and has the second highest ‘social accountability’ score. www.dav14faridabad.org
0129-2280950
R 55, 800 per annum
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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EICHER SCHOOL
An innovative feature of the school is home visits so as to meet children in their home environment and assist them in planning his daily schedule. The school has topped the ‘parental participation’ category, and has the second highest ‘extra curricular activities’ and ‘sports’ scores, among others. www.eicherschool.net
0129-2437583
R 76,020 per annum
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MODERN VIDYA NIKETAN, ARAVALI
Modern Vidya Niketan founded the Aravali campus on the back of the success from their other branch in Faridabad itself. The campus is well ventilated and spacious and offers computer-aided learning to its students. The school has done well in the ‘individual attention to students’ category. www.mvneducation.com
0129-4091700
R 82,728 per annum
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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RYAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, SECTOR 21-B
The audio-visual aids supplement the repository of the teaching aids used by the school. The school also provides global exposure through Model United Nations, Presidential Classroom sessions, leadership camps and youth festivals. It has done well in the ‘parental participation’ and ‘value system’ categories www.ryanfaridabad.co.in
0129-4273700
R 40,000 per annum
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10 DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL, SECTOR 37
The school, established in 1997, has many facilities, including a volleyball court, basketball court , skating, computer labs, libraries, art rooms, music rooms, activity room, medical room and math labs. The school has done well on the ‘value system/integration’ and ‘social accountability’ parameters. www.dav37.net
0129-4279200
R 56,700 per annum
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
THEY TOO MAKE THE GRADE... MANAV RACHNA INTERNATIONAL Manav Rachna International school has a centrally air-conditioned campus, air-conditioned buses, and facilities of day boarding. It has various clubs and societies like the pottery club, the cookery club, language club, math club etc which helps in all round personality development of the children. It also has an active student exchange program.
ST. JOSEPH’S CONVENT Like other convent schools, St.Joseph’s prides itself on the level of discipline it instills in the students. The teachers work hard to develop proper etiquette and groom the students and emphasis is placed on academics and value education.
ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL St. John’s school promotes social activities like contributing to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. In this school, students are grouped into houses to reinforce fraternal bonds and the spirit of camaraderie. Inter-house events foster a spirit of healthy competition and teamwork. The campus is spread over 4 acres. The school holds regular teacher training.
With each school having different strengths, parents have many more names to choose from. Here are some other good options
G D GOENKA PUBLIC SCHOOL G.D. Goenka Public School provides a plethora of curricular activities like math week, literary week, Sanskrit activity etc and also has provisions of smart classes, Techno Park, resources room, air conditioned hostel facilities etc.Hostel rooms are attached with a spacious covered area for supervised evening and night prep classes and to watch educational and recreative programs through a home theatre fitted with 15’X 10’ screen.
VIDYA MANDIR PUBLIC SCHOOL One of Faridabad’s oldest schools, Vidya Mandir Public School trains their students using state-of-the-art smart technology. Vidyamandir Public School has Ultra Modern Smart Classroom Technology with LCD screen and a computer for the teacher which assists effective learning and explanation of subjects. This school also has a large chain of transport which could be availed from almost every nook and corner of the city.
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3 1 5 6 1 6 3 9 10 8
4 7 5 3 1 8 5 2 9 10
1 3 6 9 10 2 7 4 8 4
3 1 5 8 4 7 1 5 8 10
Value for Money
4 2 6 1 7 1 3 9 10 7
Infrastructure and Facilities
3 2 5 7 1 5 3 9 10 7
Parental participation
2 5 7 2 1 9 2 5 7 10
Social Accountability
3 1 7 6 5 1 3 10 7 9
Safety and Hygiene
1 4 8 7 1 5 3 6 10 9
Life Skills Education
2 4 1 3 9 5 7 6 8 10
Value System/ Integration
Individual Attention to Students
1 3 2 5 7 3 6 9 7 10
Innovative Teaching
Sports
1 3 2 4 6 5 6 8 10 9
ECA
Delhi Public School Apeejay School Modern Vidya Niketan, Sec 17 Modern delhi Public School Manav Rachna International DAV Public School, Sector 14 Eicher School Modern Vidya Niketan, Aravali Ryan International School DAV Public School, Sector 37
Academic Rigour
1 2 3 4 4 6 7 8 9 10
Teacher Care and Development
NAME OF SCHOOL
Competence of Teachers
RANK
PARAMETER WISE RANKING OF FARIDABAD SCHOOLS
2 1 9 4 2 7 6 5 8 10
1 3 2 5 7 4 8 10 6 8
Nursery fee figures, provided to HT by the schools, are approximate. They include annual fee and development charges (transport fee is variable). For the total fee amount, please contact the schools. * These schools did not participate in the survey. Their scores are based on the perceptual survey conducted among parents and teachers as mentioned in the methodology. DISCLAIMER :The survey data is a copyright of HT Media Limited, any use of this survey data would lead to infringement of their copyright and may result in legal action against the Infringer.
METHODOLOGY The survey was conducted in three phases.In the first phase, schools in Noida,Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad were invited to provide information on academic and non- academic facilities, performance of students, profile of teachers etc. Sifting through this, research agency C fore shortlisted schools for the second round, in which a perceptual survey was carried out with a sample of about 500 parents and teachers in each city. They were asked to assess schools that they were aware of on a scale of 10 against various parameters. The parameters of the survey this year were finalised after taking feedback from educationists, teachers and parents. Results of the perceptual survey were combined with objective data from the first round to rank schools. In the third round, C fore researchers visited the schools to conduct an audit and finalise rankings. Perceptual data scores were extrapolated for schools whose objective data was not available