Hindustan Times - C fore Top Schools Survey
2012
West Mumbai
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
A guidefo
hindustantimes WEST MUMBAI
W
e are very pleased to present to readers the fourth HT Top Schools Survey. As we did last year, we have refined the methodology to reflect our own deepening understanding of the issues and by incorporating sensible suggestions from readers. See ‘Methodology’ for further details. We hope that the survey will help parents with one of the most significant decisions they will take on behalf of their children: selecting a school. Along with the rankings, we have profiles of the top schools in each zone followed by a series of articles that capture key education trends in the city. We think that the entire series will help not only newcomers to Mumbai but also parents who have lived here all their lives. This is because city schools are rapidly transforming. First, over the past year, Indian policy makers have ushered in radical changes in curricula across boards to make it more student-centric and less marks oriented. Second, international boards are rapidly making inroads in to city schools, raising the cost of education but also ushering in innovative and wider approaches to learning and teaching. Finally, many of today’s generation of highly conscious parents want to be closely involved with their children’s lives at school: they want a lot of information about what goes on at school not only before sending their children there but also afterwards. They would like a school that suits these aspirations. This series takes into account these key shifts in schooling and parenting.
or youngparents
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
10
TOP SCHOOLS OF WEST MUMBAI
The 2012 Hindust an Times-C fore Top Schools Survey gave scores t o each school across 18 different paramet ers, from academic rigour t o sport s. Here is a list of schools ranked in t he Top 10 in West Mumbai
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ARYA VIDYA MANDIR
School authorities were unavailable for comment.
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HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: Academic rigour n Teachers Select ion process
BOARD Class 10 – ICSE Annual fee: Not available Student strength: Not available Student - teacher ratio: Not available
History: Arya Vidya Mandir Society runs the group of Arya Vidya Mandir Schools in Mumbai. The first Arya Vidya Mandir was started in Santacruz, which was followed by another in Bandra. The Juhu branch came into existence in 1989. Unique features: The school has a diverse and specialised curriculum, which helps a child develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Two environmental study weeks are conducted in a year where special focus is given to a particular environmental issue. ‘Dharam Shiksha’ is imparted to students to inculcate a strong value system.
WEBSITE: Does not have one ADDRESS: Plot No 287, Jvpd Scheme, Juhu
hindustantimes WEST MUMBAI HIGHEST RATINGS FOR:
BOMBAY CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL
Cult ural Activit ies Life skills educat ion n Selection process
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BOARD:
Class 10 – SSC, IGCSE Annual fee: R48,000 (IGCSE) St udent st rength: 2,845 St udent -t eacher ratio 24:1
“Every child has a unique potential. The role of education is to explore and nurture this potential and allow a child to blossom into a whole human being. For this, one must create an environment of care and fearlessness.” S AV I TA V E N K AT , principal
History: The school was established in 1993. It emphasises independence, integrity and excellence for every student. Unique features: Students regularly go on field trips. They are also coached for several external exams. The school library has around 15,000 books and several periodicals and magazines. It has been awarded the ‘Best International School Award’ by the British Council Library.
WEBSITE: www.bombaycambridgeschooleast.org ADDRESS: Chakala, Andheri (East)
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR:
BOMBAY SCOTTISH SCHOOL
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Educational philosophy n Sport s n Selection process
BOARD Class 10 – ICSE, Class 12 - ISC Annual fee: R40,000 Student strength: 3,390 Student- teacher ratio 21:1
“The school has excelled for more than 166 years in providing fine education. The school endeavors to kindle a fire in young minds and prepare them for a world of tomorrow that is full of challenges.”
History: In 1847, a group of Scottish missionaries began Bombay
Scottish Orphanage School. In 1976, the name was changed to Bombay Scottish School. The school structure is a heritage building. Unique features: The school is strong at several sports including shooting. Every student travels to school by bus. Its distinguished alumni include Ranjit Hoskote and Rahul Sharma.
MEL ANI E CHA NDRASHEK AR, principal
WEBSITE: www.bombayscottish.in ADDRESS: Veer Savarkar Marg, Mahim
hindustantimes WEST MUMBAI CHATRABHUJ NARSEE MEMORIAL SCHOOL
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: n Academic rigour n Teachers n Select ion process BOARD Class 10- ICSE Annual fee: R 40,000 Student strength: 3,380 Teacher rat io: 23:1
“Ours is a great school to be in, as we strive to imbibe values, traditions and customs. World class facilities make our students confident. New benchmarks for academic excellence are set every year.”
History: The Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal started the school in 1996. Mukesh Patel, the driving force, wanted a good, affordable English-medium ICSE school in the area. Unique features: The school aims to make education stress-free and has compulsory yoga every morning. To avoid unhealthy competition, it follows a grading system till Class 8. It is an inclusive school.
G I R I JA M O H A N , principal
WEBSITE: www.cnmschool.org ADDRESS: Dadabhai Road, Vile Parle (West)
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
DHIRUBHAI AMBANI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: n Academic rigour n Teachers n Social engagement BOARD Class 10 - ICSE, IGCSE Class 12 - IB Annual fee: R1,09,500 St udent st rengt h: 1,050 St udent -Teacher rat io: 7: 1
“As a young school established just nine years ago, this accolade is a tribute to our commitment to provide a world-class educational experience to our children and will inspire us to set new benchmarks of excellence year after year.”
History: The school opened in Januray 2003 and is housed in a seven-storeyed building with state-of-the-art labs. Nita M Ambani, wife of industrialist Mukesh Ambani is the chairperson of the school. Unique features: Its students have won scholarships from Stanford, Princeton and Yale, among other international universities. It has hosted the pan-Asian Inaugural International Sports and Cultural Fest.
N I TA M A M B A N I , founder and chairperson
WEBSITE: www.da-is.org ADDRESS: Bandra-Kurla complex, Bandra (East)
hindustantimes WEST MUMBAI JAMNABAI NARSEE SCHOOL
“We believe in child-centric education. We hope our students will ably shoulder responsibilities in the future, with true accountability to their country, and with empathy for the greater good of the world.”
History: Brothers Chatrabhuj Pratap and Dharamshee Narsee formed the Shri Narsee Public Charitable Trust in 1959. They established the Narsee Monjee Educational Trust in 1970. This school is named after their mother.
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: n Cult ural act ivities n Select ion process n Value for money BOARD Class 10 – ICSE, IGCSE and NIOS; Class 12 – ISC, IB Annual fee: R40,000 St udent st ren;’gt h: 4,800 St udent : Teacher rat io: 14: 1
Unique features: The school’s resource centre has 11 educators for children with special needs. The school also has a career guidance centre for its IB students. It also hosts a sports week for children with special needs.
S U D E S H N A C H AT T E RJ E E , principal
WEBSITE: www.jns.ac.in ADDRESS: JVPD Scheme, Vile Parle (West)
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
MANECKJI COOPER SCHOOL “Education is not just teaching children the textbooks, but empowering them with the vision to succeed against all odds. The quality of education shapes the destiny of an individual. ”
History: The Maneckji Cooper Education Trust School was inaugurated on September 15, 1959 with 30 children in the nursery class. The school was named after Maneckji Cooper, a pioneer of secondary education, by a private non-missionary enterprise in western India. Unique features: The school recently received the Best School Award by the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations for Welfare and Culture for having maximum Zoroastrians in the ICSE merit list. HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: n Academic rigour n Teachers n Select ion process
K AS H M IR A G UN D EV I A, principal
BOARD:
Class 10 –ICSE Annual fee: R36,400 St udent st rength: 1,902 St udent - t eacher ratio: 26: 1
WEBSITE: www.maneckjicooperschool.com ADDRESS: Juhu Tara road, Santacruz (West)
hindustantimes WEST MUMBAI
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HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: Cult ural act ivities Select ion process n Sport s
BOARD Class 10 – IGCSE, Class 12 – IB
OBEROI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL “OIS is a young school on a roll. We are about collaboration and not competition. We celebrate all our students’ achievements, big or small. We challenge our students to get better for the pure joy that comes with learning.”
History: Oberoi International School began in August 2008. The school is a contemporary urban school and a part of Oberoi Realty’s integrated township — Oberoi Garden City. Unique features: Knowledge, respect, social responsibility, creativity and celebration of accomplishments are the core values of the school. Students from almost 16 different nationalities contribute to the cultural diversity of the school.
V L AD IM I R K U S KOVSK I , principal
WEBSITE: www.oberoi-is.org ADDRESS: Oberoi Garden City, Goregaon (east)
Annual fee: R2,94,000 St udent st rength: 767 St udent - t eacher ratio: 5:1
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR:
n Select ion process n Academic rigour n
PODAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL “A holistic education to develop my students into compassionate global learners is what I always strive to achieve.” VA N DA N A LU L L A , principal
Teacher-st udent relat ionship
BOARD Class 10 – IGCSE, Class 12 -IB, A level Annual fee: R1,38,000 Student strength: 1,586 Student- t eacher rat io: 16: 1
History: In 1927, Anandilal Podar, a businessman who ran cotton mills, founded the Podar Group of Schools. Mahatma Gandhi was the first president of the Anandilal Podar Trust. A trust manages the school, which was founded in 2004. Unique features: The school has 60 laptops that students can borrow for class. Its classrooms have interactive boards and 24-inch television screens. This is part of the school’s drive to go paperless. It wants to eventually have laptops for all children.
WEBSITE: www.podarinternationalschool.com ADDRESS: Saraswati Road, Santacruz
hindustantimes WEST MUMBAI
UTPAL SHANGHVI SCHOOL
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: n Academic rigour n Teachers n Select ion process BOARD
Class 10 – SSC; IGCSE, Class 12 – A level Annual fee: R28,000 (SSC), R63,000 (IGCSE), R3,10,000 (A level) St udent st rength: 3,087 St udent - t eacher ratio: 20:1
“We emphasise the importance of mind over matter. Our institution works towards this and our students stand out in a crowd because they are groomed to focus and turn knowledge into application.”
History: The school was started by members of 14 housing societies in Juhu after they found it difficult to get their children into good, co-educational English medium schools within walking distance of their homes. Unique features: Students play a variety of sports including martial arts such as belt-wrestling and jujitsu. The school offers parent-enrichment workshops has a state-of-the-art audio-visual room.
A B H A D H A R A M PA L , principal
WEBSITE: www.utpalshanghvischool.org ADDRESS: JVPD Scheme, Juhu
METHODOLOGY A. Process HT and research firm Cfore conducted the survey in three phases over four months. In the first phase, we sent out an exhaustive questionnaire to 307 private schools in the Mumbai region, asking them to send us detailed data about themselves, such as their studentteacher ratios, total area of all their playgrounds, etc. Of these, 109 schools replied. (We hope that many more will join in next year.) Based on these replies, we assigned each school an objective score. In the second phase, a perceptual survey was conducted among a carefully selected sample of teachers and parents. In all, 2512 respondents were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The respondents were asked to evaluate the schools that they were aware of on a 10 point scale against 18 parameters. We used the same parameters as last year. We had arrived at the parameters based on suggestions from a panel of educationists. Simultaneously, objective data was also collected. In the third phase, Cfore research-ers visited each school shortlisted for ranking based on the objective and perceptual data collected. The data was also audited by talking to parents and students. To arrive at the ranking score, the figures of perceptual and objective data were combined. In case the objective data was not available, the perceptual data scores were extrapolated to rank top 10 schools of each of the five zones of the Mumbai region: north, south, east, west and Navi Mumbai. B. The parameters along which we rated the schools n Educational philosophy n Attitude towards learning n Breadth of vision n Social engagement n Academic rigour n Innovative teaching n Quality of teachers n Teacher-student relationship n Sports n Cultural activities n Life skills education n Infrastructure and facilities n Safety, health and hygiene n Diversity n Selection process n Governance n Parent participation n Value for money
NOTES 1. Despite employing such a comprehensive process, we at HT believe that such rankings cannot be completely objective because people will have different opinions of what they believe constitutes a good education. Some parents might be looking for a school that allows them to be closely involved while others may want the opposite. Some parents might want schools that focus on sports while others may want one where academics dominates. 2. We believe that beyond a particular threshold, it is difficult to objectively rank schools. Indeed, as we have said, our survey includes some subjective, perceptual inputs. Therefore, we will only list in alphabetical order schools that emerged as the top ten in each of the other zones. We have, however, provided rankings for the top ten schools overall in the city because many readers have asked us for it. 3. In any case, we advise parents to look carefully at how schools have scored against the various parameters instead of going just by the overall rank. These scores will indicate to parents which school might better suit their specific aspirations. Indeed, a school that is ranked lower might actually be better suited to a parent and his or her child than the topranked one.