Mumbai’s top-ranked preschools

For this year’s survey conducted under a new taxonomy, Mumbai’s most well-known 20 owned/proprietary, 17 franchised and 15 pre-primaries attached to K-10/12 schools were rated and ranked separately

Mumbai (aka bombay), India’s premier seaport and commercial capital (pop.21 million), has always been more receptive to revolutionary technology and evolutionary ideas than cities and communities of the hinterland. Therefore the city’s first pre-primaries based on modern pedagogies — Besant Montessori, Juhu and West Wind, Gamdevi — were established more than half century ago as prep schools for Mumbai’s top-ranked primary-secondaries such as the Cathedral and John Connon School (estb. 1860) among others.

For this year’s survey conducted under a new taxonomy, Mumbai’s most well-reputed pre-primaries were rated and ranked by field researchers of the Delhi-based Centre for Forecasting and Research Pvt. Ltd (C fore, estb. 2000), one of the country’s most well-known market research and opinion polls company. They interviewed parents with children in preschools, principals and teachers who constituted a sample respondents database of 639 to rate the shortlisted preschools across 10 parameters — competence of teachers, infrastructure, safety and hygiene, individual attention to students, among others — of early childhood care and education. The respondents were asked to rate 20 owned/proprietary, 17 franchise and 15 preschools attached to K-10/12 schools separately.

Owned/proprietary preschools

The new process adopted for the latest EW preschool rankings survey seems to have benefitted Besant Montessori (BM), Juhu which was steadily moving up the Mumbai league table of pre-primaries. In 2011, Mumbai’s first Montessori preschool (estb.1948) was ranked #15, #12 in 2013 and #3 last year. This year, it has been voted the #1 preschool of the country’s financial capital in the owned/proprietary category.

“I am very glad to learn that Besant Montessori is ranked Mumbai’s #1 preschool under the new process adopted by EducationWorld. The top rank awarded by your informed survey respondents is very encouraging for all of us because it shows that Besant Montessori, promoted by Dr. Tehmina Wadia who trained under Dr. Maria Montessori over half a century ago, has progressed in the right direction to realise her vision. I believe the credit for our high ranking should accrue to our directress Dolly Wadia and all our teachers who have worked unitedly and cooperatively to develop BM into a uniquely child-centric school,” says Arundhati Chaudhuri, an alumna of the St. Nicholas Centre for Montessori Education, London who joined BM in 1997 as a teacher and is currently principal of the pre-primary of BM which offers preschool-class V education to 280 children.

Adds Kavita Rode, principal of the primary school and formerly head of the pre-primary section: “I am elated but not surprised because among ourselves, we are aware that BM has developed into the country’s most progressive and child-centric pre-primary nurturing youngest children according to the joyful learning precepts and practices prescribed by Dr. Maria Montessori. There should be more Montessori schools like ours across the country.”

The rising popularity of Montessori pedagogy is testified by the steep ascent in the Mumbai owned/proprietary preschools league of Harmony Montessori, Santacruz ranked #12 in 2014 to #2 this year which together with BM, Juhu, the vintage West Wind, Gamdevi, Leapbridge International, Sion and Alpha Kids, Andheri (West), constitute the Top 5 table. However Mansi Dalal, president of Alpha Kids, Andheri (W) is dissatisfied about its #5 ranking. She believes it’s “the best pre-primary in Mumbai”, especially for nurturing special needs children.

“The number of Alpha Kids preschools in Mumbai has multiplied to three with an aggregate enrolment of 1,000 children. This growth has happened entirely by way of references and word-of-mouth publicity, because parents across the city are aware of the highest standards and strict 1:6 teacher-pupil ratio we maintain in Alpha Kids schools. I am particularly disappointed that we are not top-ranked on the parameter of special needs education, because I’m quite confident that no other pre-primary in the city can match the quality and standards of our special needs education. There’s something not right about your perceptions based rating and rankings system. A team of experts should visit at least the Top 5 schools in each city and verify and modify the conclusions of your survey,” says Dalal, a psychology, ECCE and business management graduate of Mumbai University who has conceptualised, shaped and developed the Alpha Kids preschools in Mumbai promoted by the Dandekar family of Kokuyo Camlin.

Among the notable owned/proprietary pre-primaries which have advanced in this year’s classified league tables are The Courtyard, Tardeo ranked #20 last year, and #10 this year and the previously unranked Spring Buds International, Lamington Road ranked #15 and Spring Buds International, Borivali (W), ranked #20.

Franchised preschools

Ranked Mumbai’s #1 preschool across all categories every year except 2013 when it was ranked second, unsurprisingly Kangaroo Kids, Bandra (estb.1993) has been overwhelmingly voted Mumbai’s premier franchise preschool by the 639 parents, principals and teachers quizzed for the EW Mumbai Preschool Rankings 2015. The mother institution of the 100-strong Kangaroo Kids and Billabong High International (with pre-primary sections) chain of franchised schools countrywide and in the Maldives, Doha, Dubai and Sri Lanka, Kangaroo Kids, Bandra (KKB), has made a clean sweep in the separate category of franchise schools by being ranked #1 on all the 10 parameters of preschool excellence.

“Although I can’t say I’m surprised, KKB’s #1 ranking for the second year in succession even under the new classifications, is great news. We interpret it as lack of complacency and continuous improvement. As a well-established brand, the challenge before us is to communicate and invest the brand promise and excellence in all Kangaroo Kids and Billabong International schools. Our intent is to revolutionise early childhood and high school education across India and South Asia. Our consistently high ranking in the annual EW preschools survey makes it easier to attain this evangelistic endeavour,” says Lina Ashar, the UK and Australia-educated promoter-CEO of the Mumbai-based Kangaroo Kids Education Ltd.

Priya Lalit Mittal, who was “bitterly disappointed” that EuroKids, Lokhandwala (EKL, Powai) was unranked last year despite being ranked #9 in 2013, is pleased that EKL is not only back on the Mumbai league table but is accorded a place of honour at the Top 5 table of franchised schools. However, she believes that given the heavy investment EKL has made in infrastructure upgradation and safety and hygiene (“the entire school is covered by CCTV to ensure child safety”) as also in teacher training and development, it has not been given due recognition by the survey respondents.

“EKL is a happy school with devoted and dedicated teachers, half of whom have remained with us right from day one. Unlike most pre-primaries of the city EKL is set in a bungalow with a large garden offering children ample opportunity for play and exploration. If your survey respondents were aware of this, they would have ranked us higher,” says Mittal, an economics, English and education alumna of Agra and Mumbai universities who promoted EKL under franchise from the 884-strong EuroKids chain in 2003.

KKB and Podar Jumbo Kids which topped the consolidated league table of Mumbai’s preschools last year have maintained the status quo at the top table this year, while Kangaroo Kids, Thakur Village, Kandivali has improved its rank from #13 in 2014 to 5 this year. Beyond the Top 5 table, a large number of previously unranked franchised schools have benefitted from the new taxonomy to be included in the city’s league table of most respected preschools.

Pre-primaries of K-10/12 schools

With preschools thus far spared the heavy hand and itching palms of government inspectors, a rising number of primary-secondaries are undertaking backward integration into pre-primary education, transforming themselves into end-to-end K-12 institutions. Moreover, even from the point of view of administrative convenience it makes good sense for primary-secondaries to establish early childhood care and education (ECCE) centres to better prepare youngest children for induction into their primaries. From the viewpoint of parents as well, admission of children into the kindergarten classes of preferred primary-secondaries makes good sense as it spares them the pain of making multiple applications and undergoing interviews for the much-too-few seats available in top-ranked primary-secondaries.

Against this backdrop, it’s unsurprising that the most admired pre-primaries of the megalopolis are those promoted by the city’s highly respected primary-secondary institutions which topped the EducationWorld India School Rankings 2015 published in September. In that survey, the Dhirubhai Ambani International School (DAIS) backed by the massive resources of Reliance Industries Ltd — the country’s largest private sector corporation (net sales revenue: Rs.464,379 crore in 2014-15) — was ranked India’s and Mumbai’s #1 international day school, and Smt. Sulochnanadevi Singhania School, Thane (SSST), the country’s and Mumbai #1 indigenous co-ed day school. With both these institutions offering pre-primary education, the sample respondents of the preschool survey have also top-ranked them for pre-primary education excellence.

“On top of DAIS being ranked India’s #1 international day school consecutively for the past three years, we are very pleased to learn that our pre-primary school has also been ranked #1 in Mumbai in the EW Preschool Rankings 2015. This accolade reinforces our belief that every child is uniquely talented, and children will blossom beyond imagination if they’re provided conducive and enjoyable learning environments. Our curriculum and educational practices are ever-evolving, and our teachers continually hone their skills by participating in professional development programmes and through an on-going process of sharing knowledge and expertise, with a spirit of collaboration and the ethos of collective excellence. This practice of continuous learning and sharing is a unique feature of DAIS. The credit for this achievement should also be given to all our pre-primary children, their parents, and the entire DAIS community,” says Nita M. Ambani, founder chairperson of the Dhirubhai Ambani International School (estb. 2003).

Revathi Srinivasan, director of the CISCE-affiliated Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane (estb. 1968) is equally delighted that its pre-primary section which has 980 children mentored by 60 teachers has been adjudged second in the inaugural EW league table of preschools attached to primary-secondaries. “I am happy and satisfied that my kindergarten section has been given its due recognition by the informed respondents of your survey. I strongly believe that children must begin to love coming to school at the youngest age. The SSST pre-primary has been widely acclaimed because it brings joy to children and gives them confidence to learn. Having qualified as an early childhood teacher myself, I am wholly involved in curriculum design and enjoy the vibrancy we have added to our preschool children’s learning experiences. Our high ratings on the parameters of infrastructure management and value for money is well deserved,” says Srinivasan, an alumna of NMIMS, Pondicherry and Kerala universities with well-grounded teaching and admin experience in Singhania schools and Raymond Rehabilitation Centre before she signed up with SSST in January 2000. In January, 2007 Srinivasan was appointed principal and director of SSST.

As in the case of DAIS and SSST, the league table ranking of pre-primaries attached to primary-secondaries in Mumbai is faithfully congruent with EW India School Rankings 2015

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