A sample comprising 203 SECA parents and 54 principals/teachers polled by C fore has rated EuroKids, Hyderabad’s No.1 pre-school followed by Bachpan and Kangaroo Kids — all sited in Banjara Hills
In the relatively well-planned southern city of Hyderabad (pop. 4.6 million) — the bone of conten-tion between pro and anti Telangana parties clamouring for vivisection of the state of Andhra Pradesh (pop.76.7 million) — awareness about the advantages of high-quality pre-school/early childhood education (ECE) seems highest in the rocky upscale suburb of Banjara Hills. Because the institutions ranked in the top three positions of the EW-C fore survey of Hyderabad’s most well-known nurseries, are sited in this tony neighbourhood, the preferred habitat of real estate tycoons, Tolly-wood movie stars, politicians, sports stars and IT millionaires. A respondents sample comprising 203 SECA parents and 54 principals/teachers polled by the Delhi-based C fore has rated EuroKids, Banjara Hills (EKBH) Hyderabad’s No.1 pre-school followed by Bachpan and Kangaroo Kids (both sited in Banjara Hills).
“We are delighted that within the two years since this pre-school was promoted it has been top-ranked by discerning parents and teachers. In all EuroKids schools, we pay great attention to teacher training. This is reflected in the highest rating EKBH has received for teacher quality. Moreover all four EuroKids schools included in the top 20 list have been highly rated for leadership, play facilities and active parental involvement. This is very satisfying,” says Avinash Bamnodkar, the Hyderabad-based regional manager of EuroKids International which has franchised 38 pre-schools in the city. Currently EKBH (annual tuition fees: Rs.35,400-38,030) has an enrolment of 110 students instructed by six teachers.
Kiranmai Tumma and Radhika Turl-apati, co-promoters of Bachpan, Road No.2, Banjara Hills (BBH), ranked second among ECE institutions in Hyderabad, are equally delighted that their even younger 11-month-old pre-school has won such high public approval. “We are overwhelmed that Bachpan has been rated among the top three pre-schools of Hyderabad. Credit for this high ranking must be given to our teachers and parents who have helped to get this school off to a flying start. It gives me great satisfaction that we have been highly ranked for faculty competence, individual attention to students and parental involvement. We are committed to giving every child in our school individual care and attention to help develop their talents and interests, and hence I’m very happy that Bachpan has been ranked first for special needs educ-ation,” says Sirish Turlapati, director of BBH (tuition fee: Rs.28,000 per year).
A franchisee of the low profile Delhi-based S.K. Education Pvt. Ltd which has franchised 400 pre-schools across the country including 40 in Hyderabad under the brand name Bachpan, BBH was promoted in June last year with a capital investment of Rs.25 lakh. The pre-school which occupies three floors of a pronouncedly upscale building in Banjara Hills boasts colourful class-rooms, doll house, mini gym, audio-visual room, baby dance floor, art and crafts room, splash pool and sand pit. It has an enrolment of 90 students instructed by seven teachers.
Another mint-new pre-school which has broken into the top 10 league table is the iDiscoveri Xseed Pre-school, Jubilee Hills. Promoted in June last year by the Delhi-based iDiscoveri Education Services Ltd, it is ranked No.6 overall, and first on the parameter of innovative teaching. “I’m delighted that we’ve been ranked No.1 for innovative teaching. To us that’s the most important parameter — the heart of what we do,” says Faustina Sharma, head of iDiscoveri’s pre-school delivery operations comprising eight ECE institutions across the country.
Adds Sarita Reddy, principal of iDiscoveri Xseed Pre-school, Jubilee Hills, which has 35 students instructed by six teachers on its muster roll, and follows the early years curriculum of iDiscoveri’s Xseed primary school learning programme, currently adopted by 303 schools countrywide: “I’m not surprised that we have been rated first for innovative teaching. Our curriculum has been specifically designed to stimulate every child to explore and experiment, and draws on the best early childhood pedagogies including Montessori, Playway, the teachings of J. Krishnamurti and Howard Gardener’s multiple intelligences theory.”
The mushroom growth of new-age professionally managed pre-schools in Hyderabad is being welcomed by the city’s parents community. “New-age pre-schools are a great boon to children — they have made early age formal education unfashionable. For instance at Bachpan, Banjara Hills, children learn by playing — a fun-filled and joyful experience. Moreover, new age pre-schools welcome parental involvement in school activities and teachers are well-trained, friendly and cooperative,” says Shanti Lavanya, an imaging research associate with Parexel International Ltd, Hyderabad, whose four-year-old niece Ritika Singh is enroled in BBH.
Hyderabad's best pre-schools league table userfiles/Hyderabad league table.pdf
Parameters of Excellence: Hyderabad's Top Pre-schools userfiles/Parameters tables-Hyderabad.pdf