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. I n c a s e yo u ’ v e m i s s e d t h e o n g o i n g 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
GHAZIABAD’S BOUTIQUE SCHOOLS Paramita Ghosh
father, Sandeep Gupta.
■ paramitaghosh@hindustantimes.com
STUDENTS’ AND PARENTS’ WANTS
The Ghaziabad educational ‘scene’ is a case of the best getting the cream, the rest getting the crumbs. The top schools have on-campus swimming pools, speciality-sports courses, academics with foreign tours. The rest, follow old chalk-and-talk methods, rote learning and an academics-only curriculum. Even the top 10 lag behind the good schools elsewhere in the NCR region, forcing many middle-class parents, especially in areas such as Indirapuram and Vaishali, to pick schools of Noida and Delhi for their children. The Top 10 also has room for improvement and has tried to plug their weak areas. In the 2012 HT-C fore Top School Survey for Ghaziabad, Delhi Public School Ghaziabad (DPSG) retains its lead, topping in various categories such as ‘academic rigour’ and improving last year’s record in ‘extra-curricular activities’ and ‘sports’. Holy Child bests last year’s score climbing to top place in the ‘value for money’ category. Uttam School tops in the ‘individual attention’ category, one that is closely watched by most parents. An emerging trend is that Ghaziabad’s best schools are now offering a choice of subjects so children have begun to change one Ghaziabad school for the other mid-way, for the sake of subject specialisations. For example, Kirtikar, a student, joined DPSG in Class 11 because he wanted to take up a course in history and his earlier school did not offer it. Did he then consider joining a school in Delhi? “It didn’t make sense to waste 2-3 hours on travel, especially when the schools here are as good,” he said. A student of Ryan International till Class 8, Suhani Gupta is another ‘transfer student’. She joined Uttam School For Girls in Class 9. “The previous school, in my opinion, has started to believe in quantity over quality,” said Suhani’s
Shwet, a student of Silverline School, said he was happy to be in a school that did not just focus on academics but also on extra-curricular activities. Students claimed the school’s special care towards activities outside of coursework showed them the way towards taking “small steps to change society by knowing about and changing the environment”. Sheersh Kapoor, another Silverline student, said the school’s competitive spirit helped him to be “bold”. His mother, Benu Kapoor, a teacher herself, said she appreciated the way the school did not treat its “extra-curricular competitions as something to be done and got over with”. Principals said parents nowadays want the moon. Playschools have indirectly played a part in fostering Ghaziabad’s new culture of choice. There are now at least 25-30 playschools in urban Ghaziabad where children get an early exposure to an ‘exclusive’ environment. “Academics, English and foreign-language fluency, sports and extra-curricular activities, career counselling, global exchange programmes and a confident child — schools have to deliver it all,” said Jyoti Gupta, principal, DPSG. WHAT SCHOOLS WANT The area some of Ghaziabad’s best schools are left wanting in, is the locality. Some schools have open drains right outside their premises or a factory or two in their neighbourhood. Traffic jams are common. All this may change, said Jyoti Gupta, if transport links are improved. “The moment Hindon Bridge comes up, we won’t have traffic jams on Meerut Road,” she said. The Metro is another big hope. “Once that starts, we will get teachers from Noida and Delhi,” she added.
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top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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TOP SCHOOLS OF GHAZIABAD
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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 Ghaziabad
DPSG MEERUT ROAD
A leader all the way, the school has invested in laptops for teachers, and interactive boards in every classroom. It as an e-library and impressive sports infrastructure. Not surprisingly, it tops in the ‘academic rigour,’ ‘competence of teachers’ categories. And ‘infrastructure facility’ and ‘sports’ parameters as well. www.Dpsghaziabad.com
0120-2712236
R 81,180 per annum
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DPS, INDIRAPURAM
Global exposure to its students is one of the school’s USPs. Last year, it had the second highest score on parameters such as ‘extra-curricular activities’ and ‘teacher care and development’. This year, it comes third in ‘teacher competence’ and does well in ‘value system,’ and ‘innovative teaching’ parameters. www.dpsindirapuram.com
0120-3998800
R 97,300 per annum
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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DPSG SEC-9 VASUNDHARA
The school tops, two years in a row, in ‘lifeskills education’ and ‘innovative teaching’ categories. It aims to create global citizens. Students are involved in exchange programmes with countries such as Australia, Germany. Students do regular drills on fire safety, first-aid. www.dpsgv.com
0120-2880262
R 87,380 per annum per annum
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UTTAM SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
Equipped with a gym, golf course, swimming pool, the school also places great emphasis on personal grooming, theatre and public speaking classes. This year, it leads in ‘individual attention to students,’ and scores second-highest in ‘parental participation,’ ‘safety and hygiene,’ and ‘infrastructure and facilities. www.uttamschool.org
0120-2782608
R 83,120 per annum
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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BAL BHARTI PUBLIC SCHOOL
The school has special activity rooms for nursery students. It has a recording studio, and various creative outlets for students such as a nature and an astronomy club. It tops on the ‘teacher care and development,’ parameter and does well in ‘innovative teaching,’ ‘value systems,’ and ‘parental participation,’ categories www.bbpsbv.org
0120-2642656
R 39,240 per annum
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DLF PUBLIC SCHOOL
The school clearly places a lot of emphasis on sports, culture and discipline. It has a skating rink, a cricket ground, lawn tennis and badminton courts. It scores second place in ‘sports,’ and does well in ‘teacher care and development,’ ‘parental participation,’ and ‘teacher care and development,’ categories. www.dlfps.com
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0120-2632490-91
R 69,920 per annum
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL, SAHIBABAD
Even though like other DAVs, this school draws from Vedic Sanskrit traditions, it received an International School Award from the British Council. The school is a consistent high scorer in the ‘value systems,’ ‘social accountability’ and ‘infrastructure and facilities’ categories www.davpssahibabad.org
0120- 2631202
R 48,000 per annum
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THE HOLY CHILD*
This all-girls convent school is known for its academic and sports achievements. Facilities for athletics, basketball and volleyball are provided. The Holy Child ranks the highest in the ‘value system’ category. Its active eco-club and programmes for the deprived has inculcated in its students the spirit of social service. www.hcsnehrunagar.com
0120-2796839
NOT AVAILABLE
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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SETH ANANDRAM JAIPURIA SCHOOL
Seth Anandram makes a comeback to the Top Ten again. A co-ed school spread across 4 acres, it has all the facilities required for well-balanced education. It has done well in ‘teacher care and development,’ ‘innovative teaching,’ ‘parental participation,’ ‘extra-curricular activities’ and ‘safety and hygiene’ categories. www.schooljaipuria.com
0120-4179300
R 42,700 per annum
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10 RYAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Ryan International also fights back into the Top Ten list this year. Equipped with auditoriums, playgrounds, IT-enabled learning rooms and labs, it has done well in ‘teacher care and development,’ ‘innovative teaching,’ ‘parental participation,’ ‘extra-curricular activities’ and ‘value system’ categories. www.ryanghaziabad.co.in
0120-2761427
R 40,730 per annum
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
THEY TOO MAKE THE GRADE... AMITY INTERNATIONAL The school boasts of a 15-acre campus and offers its students a choice of extra-curricular activities including shooting and sculpture-making. Extra coaching classes for competitive exams are conducted after school hours. There is also a dedicated counselling centre which helps students and teachers.absorbed technology into teaching.
CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL A well-equipped library, laboratories, gymnasium, computer rooms, playgrounds — Cambridge School has made a mark in the NCR region with its diverse offerings. The school has student exchange programmes with Tenacres First School, London. It also boasts of a national-level award in soccer and in theatre.
THE GURUKUL Spread across a campus area of 6 acres, it has won awards in state chess championships and has been an active participant in yoga, taekwondo, athletics, archery and other sports. Teaching staff attend regular professional enrichment workshops in teaching, lifeskills and motivational programmes. Inhouse counselling sessions are organised on adolescence sexual health.
With each school having different strengths, parents have many more names to choose from. Here are some other good options
SILVERLINE SCHOOL The school has strong personality-development programmes and aims at providing the right balance between academic and co-curricular activities. Medical and dental check-ups by a team of doctors is a regular feature here. An emphasis is laid on optimum involvement of its students in green campaigns and cleanliness drives
KHAITAN PUBLIC SCHOOL A well-known brand of schools in the NCR region, the priorities of The Khaitan Public School are three-fold: to provide its students modern educational facilities; devise an imaginative but intellectually challenging environment to study and employ teachers with subject specialisations. Nursery students have it good with a playing arena, complete with a sand pit and a toy train. With smart classes and up-to-date labs, the school has absorbed technology into teaching.
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3 5 1 2 5 4 10 8 7 8
1 5 4 2 7 9 5 10 3 8
1 3 5 7 6 8 3 2 9 10
2 1 4 2 6 8 9 10 4 6
Value for Money
4 7 2 8 3 9 5 1 10 5
Infrastructure and Facilities
2 4 1 2 4 7 9 10 7 4
Parental participation
2 4 3 1 7 5 7 10 6 9
Social Accountability
1 3 5 8 7 2 5 10 9 4
Safety and Hygiene
1 3 4 2 7 6 8 10 5 9
Life Skills Education
1 5 3 9 6 4 7 2 8 10
Value System/ Integration
Individual Attention to Students
2 4 5 10 1 8 5 9 3 7
Innovative Teaching
Sports
1 3 6 8 4 6 9 2 4 10
ECA
DPSG, Meerut Road DPS, Indirapuram DPSG Vasundhara Uttam School for Girls Bal Bharti Public School DLF Public School DAV Public School, Sahibabad The Holy Child* Seth Anandram Jaipuria Ryan International School
Academic Rigour
1 2 3 4 5 5 7 8 9 10
Teacher Care and Development
NAME OF SCHOOL
Competence of Teachers
RANK
PARAMETER WISE RANKING OF GHAZIABAD SCHOOLS
1 2 10 2 5 8 4 9 6 7
2 3 6 10 3 8 5 1 7 9
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