Despite its youthful demographic profile, the garden city’s citizenry is as appreciative of vintage pre-primaries as it is of new genre, new millennium early childhood care and education institutions
With its Large and Growing population of young prof-essionals in the IT, biotech and science and technology industries, the garden city of Bangalore, which is rapidly going to seed due to unplanned growth, has experienced a steady and sustained expansion of pre-primary schools. Moreover, with young parent-professionals engaged with firms and businesses in western OECD countries and often required to interact with their counterparts, the standards expected — and demanded — of early childhood care and education (ECCE) are high. This is why during the past two decades after the Indian economy was liberalised and connected with the western nations in particular, ECCE pre-primaries benchmarked with nursery schools abroad have been mushroo-ming in the city..gif)
Despite its youthful demographic profile, Bangalore’s citizenry is not unappreciative of vintage education institutions with tried and tested reputations. This perhaps explains why Head Start Montessori, Koramangala (HSM, estb. 1984) has been ranked the city’s #1 pre-primary school for the past three years, 2013 included. HSM was promoted 29 years ago by highly resp-ected educationist Samina Mahmood, an education alumna of North Bengal and Northampton (UK) universities, in a motor garage as an experiment to induct her three children into the formal education system. Since then, it has grown — mainly through word-of-mouth publicity — into Bangalore’s most preferred preschool with 500 children aged 2.6-6 years mentored by 38 teachers in two shifts (tuition fee: Rs.65,000 per annum). Against its annual intake of 120 children, HSM receives over 300 applications every year.
“I am truly honoured and gratified that the informed public of Bangalore has ranked HSM the city’s #1 preschool for the third year in succession. I believe this is because over the past almost 30 years, people have become convinced that we truly believe that the foundation years are critical; that we are a constantly learning school and that children nurtured by HSM have grown into confident and successful adults. I am especially glad that your resp-ondents have recognised the effort HSM is making to provide customised ECCE to our special needs children,” says Mahmood.
But even though young parents appreciate vintage pre-primaries such as HSM and First Steps, Cunningham Road, they are also appreciative of new genre, new millennium ECCE initiatives such as the Indus Early Learning Centre, Whitefield (IELC, estb. 2011), the feeder pre-primary of the top-ranked Indus International School, Whitefield; the upscale Neev, Indiranagar (estb. 2005), and Magical Years, Kodigehalli (estb. 2010), which are all congregated at the Top 5 table of Bangalore preschools in 2013. Ranked #2 this year, IELC is rated #1 on five of the ten parameters of excellence which define top grade ECCE institutions, viz, teacher competence, teacher welfare and devel-opment, leadership quality, individ-ualised attention, and innovative teaching.
“We are pleased and proud that IELC has impressed Bangalore’s educat-ionally informed public within three years since we started operations. I believe this is because word about our excellent IB (International Baccalaureate Organisation, Geneva) curriculum delivered by highly qualified and continuously trained teachers has spread within the city. Our #1 ranking on the parameter of individual attention to students is particularly satisfying as it is reflective of the close, responsive and reciprocal relationships between children, teachers and families that we are building in IELC,” says Jacinth Rose Portess, an education and early years education alumna of Christian Light Education College, USA, and the New Zealand Tertiary College, Auckland, who signed up with the parent Indus International School, Bangalore in 2010, and was appointed head of centre at IELC in August Likewise H.R. Sowmya, a commerce graduate of Mysore University and the Indian Montessori Centre, Bangalore and pro-tem principal and spokes-person of the Magical Years, Kodigehalli, is delighted with its Top 5 ranking, from #8 in 2012. The preschool is a joint venture of the Shirley Madhavan Kutty-promoted and consistently top-ranked The Magic Years, Delhi (see p.44) and the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy, Bangalore (estb. 2006), promoted by former India Davis Cup player Krishna Bhupathi.
“I am thrilled that the uniquely different Magical Years which offers thoroughly modern Montessori learning integrated with strong emphasis on physical development and sports such as mini tennis, basketball and athletics is appreciated by the public. The management has invested heavily to develop the superb facilities here, and I’m not surprised we are ranked #1 on the important parameter of infrastructure provision,” says Sowmya.
To read Bangalore's best preschools league table visit http://www.educationworld.in/rank-preschool/bengaluru/2013.html