Although ECCE is a novel concept for government bureaucrats and the public in the subcontinent, it’s relatively old hat in Mumbai, the country’s commercial capital which has always been open to modernisation ideals
As a west coast port city, Mumbai (pop. 21 million) — the country’s commercial capital — has always been open to modernisation ideals and innovations in business, science and technology. To this list, add education. Although it has since been ruined by sustained political interference and petty parochialism, Bombay University was established way back in 1857 as one of the country’s first three modern-era institutions of higher education. Moreover, the megalopolis boasts several top-ranked primary-secondary schools which trace their lineage to the mid-19th century.
Inevitably, citizens of Bombay, whose name was ill-advisedly changed to Mumbai by aforesaid petty parochial politicians in 1995, were among the first in the country to become aware that professionally administered early childhood care and education (ECCE) is critically important for the orderly progress of children into stable maturity. Therefore, the city’s first pre-primaries based on modern pedagogies — Besant Montessori, Juhu, West Wind, Gamdevi and Casa Bambino, Breach Candy, to name a few — were established over seven decades ago. Therefore while ECCE is a novel concept for government bureaucrats and the public in the subcontinent, it’s relatively old hat in Mumbai.
Owned/proprietary preschools
This year, the seating arrangements at the high end of the Top 10 table of Mumbai’s proprietary pre-primaries have been re-ordered. The long reign of Kangaroo Kids, Bandra the mother school of the 100-strong Mumbai-based Kangaroo Kids Education Ltd founded by ECCE visionary Lina Ashar in 1993, has come to an end. Ranked #1 in Mumbai in 2012, 2014 and 2015, this year’s 635 informed sample respondents have jointly ranked the previously unranked Podar Jumbo Kids, Khar and Besant Montessori, Juhu above it.
Podar Jumbo Kids, Andheri (West), Leapbridge International, Sion, Alpha Kids Nursery, Andheri (W) and Saifee Nursery, Malabar Hill (ranked a lowly #14 last year) and Little Bo Peep, Khar (W) jointly ranked #5 complete the Top 5. Other pre-primaries placed among the Top 10 by this year’s Mumbai respondents include the previously unranked SIS Prep, Churchgate (#6), West Wind, Gamdevi (7) and Spring Buds International, Juhu (8). Children’s Nook, Gamdevi is ranked #9 jointly with the previously unranked Kookaburra, Juhu and the vintage Casa Bambino, Bhulabhai Desai Road is ranked a joint #10 with Kids ‘n’ Krayons, Lokhandwala, Andheri.
Swati Popat Vats, an alumna of Bombay University and president of the Podar Jumbo Kids chain of 167 owned and franchised preschools across the country, is elated that the chain’s owned showpiece Khar pre-primary has been adjudged the commercial capital’s top-ranked preschool of 2016. “The united team at our Khar centre has worked very hard to get this ranking and is jubilant. We are also thankful for the support of the city’s parents community which has acknowledged our sustained investment in infrastructure, teacher training and innovative teaching. Preschool education is not given sufficient government or societal importance and recognition. Therefore this ranking awarded after conduct of a detailed and professional survey by a publication of good repute, will go a long way in giving preschool teachers, staff and principals great encouragement,” says Popat Vats, also the promoter-president of the 1,000 member-strong Early Childhood Association (estb. 2010) which is fighting a lonely battle for universalisation and professionalisation of ECCE.
Further down the proprietary league table of 32 preschools sufficiently high-profile to be rated by the carefully selected 635 sample respondents of Mumbai, Safari Kids, Pali Hill, Bandra (W) has made an impressive debut to be jointly ranked #11 with the well-reputed The Courtyard, Tardeo. “Our debut at #11 in the EW 2016 league table is a good start considering we are a new school and just started operations. Safari Kids, Bandra is an affiliate of the California-based Safari Kids Inc, one of the fastest growing preschool chains worldwide with pre-primaries in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, UAE and India. We have an excellent curriculum which is truly global with probably the best preschool environment. We expect to be one of the top preschools of India once the public learns more about us,” says Farzana Boricha, operations head of Safari Kids, which has 102 children and 14 teachers on its muster rolls.
Among other proprietary pre-primaries which have risen in the esteem of the informed public are Little Palms, Breach Candy ranked #12 this year (#18 in 2015), the previously unranked Ryan Shalom, Kamothe and Budding Blossoms, Malad East jointly ranked #13, Millennium Starkids Play School, Thane at #15 (16) and the previously unranked Ryan Shalom, Poonam Nagar, Andheri ranked a joint #16 with Little Aryans, Kalyan. Moreover three new proprietary pre-primaries — Toddlers House, Juhu, Pathfinders, Parel and Youngin International Preschool, Vikhroli (W) — have debuted in this year’s Mumbai league table. 
Evidently India’s commercial capital has no shortage of education entrepreneurs ready, willing and able to risk capital and other resources to meet the rising demand for early childhood care and education. The state government would be well advised to follow the example of Mumbai’s ranked private preschools and raise teaching-learning standards in its anganwadis.
Franchised pre-primaries
India’s 60 million middle class households which shun the country’s 1.20 million shabby, dysfunctional government schools like the plague, are a huge market for edupreneurs ready to offer professionally-administered early childhood care and education (ECCE). Currently, an estimated 300,000 private pre-primaries with an average enrolment of 35 children provide ECCE of varying quality to an estimated 10 million youngest children. And because ECCE has mercifully been spared the inexpert and bull-in-china-shop interference of the Union human resource development ministry at the Centre and education ministry bureaucrats and inspectors in the states, several professionally managed companies with structured and/or researched ECCE curriculums, which they provide to licenced franchisees, have entered the pre-primary sector in a big way.
Companies such as Kangaroo Kids Education, EuroKids, Podar Jumbo Kids, Kidzee and the Tree House have not only promoted their own proprietary preschools but also provide standardised curriculums, teacher training, management services and branding rights to hundreds of education entrepreneurs running franchised preschools across the country. And although their role in professionalising and standardising critically important early childhood education is anathema to the country’s status quo Left academics who dominate the Indian academy and education ministries, the country’s preschool chains have made a great contribution to national development by generating awareness of the vital importance of professionally administered ECCE.
Reshma Kukreja, a commerce and business management alumna of Mumbai University and the Welingkar Institute of Management and promoter-director of Kangaroo Kids, Chembur (KKC), which has been promoted from #8 in 2015 to #1 this year in Mumbai’s franchised preschools league table, is “ecstatic” that the hard work and sincere effort invested to develop this pre-primary has paid off.
“I have no hesitation in acknowledging that our top ranking is to a great extent attributable to the excellent reputation of the Kangaroo Kids brand and its promoter-director Lina Ashar who is an inspiration to all KK franchisee schools. Therefore we have made strenuous efforts to adhere to Kangaroo Kids’ specified infrastructure, teacher development and school management norms. And I’m very pleased to note that KKC is ranked #1 on these parameters and also value for money,” says Kukreja who modestly ascribes this preschool’s #1 ranking on the parameter of leadership to Rina Shah, centre manager of KKC and Kangaroo Kids, Ghatkopar (E), ranked #7 and also promoted by Kukreja in 2002.
Priya Mittal, promoter-director of EuroKids, Lokhandwala (EKL), which has been promoted to the second rank (from #4 in 2015) by Mumbai’s 635 sample respondents this year, is pleased with the outcome because “EducationWorld’s endorsement of our skill-sets and capabilities is a true testimonial of our capabilities”.
“Our consistently higher rank over the past years is because of rising public awareness that EKL is a totally child-centric preschool. The majority of our teachers have been with us for the past 13 years since we admitted our first batch. As beneficiaries of EuroKids’ excellent teacher development programmes, they have been able to advance up the learning curve. I am a firm believer that experience and adaptation to changing times are prime factors which have enhanced our reputation and brought us deserving recognition,” says Mittal, an economics, English and education alumna of Agra and Mumbai universities who promoted EKL in 2003.
At the high end of the Top 10 table of Mumbai’s 19 sufficiently well-known and reputed franchised preschools, Kangaroo Kids, Kandivali, Thakur Village has been promoted from #5 in 2015 to #3 this year and The Tree House, Santacruz (E) from #10 to #5.
Further down the Top 10 table, the previously unranked Kangaroo Kids, Parel and Podar Jumbo Kids, Chembur are jointly ranked #6. And two Kidzee franchisees — Kidzee, Kandivali West and Kidzee, Nancy Colony, Borivali (East) — have improved their ranking this year.
To read Mumbai's best preschools league table visit: http://www.educationworld.in/rank-preschool/mumbai/2016.html