C fore pioneered school ranking in India. Our first report was published in Outlook magazine in year 2001. The prime objective of this exercise, besides giving right information to stakeholders, has always been to elevate the standard of education by promoting healthy competition between schools. The purpose of this study, more importantly, has also been to identify quality benchmarks and share best practices that facilitate effective dissemination of knowledge and help students to discover and unlock their potential while retaining their curiosity, creativity and interest in learning.

In last over two decades, as part of the ranking survey, I have visited a large number of schools in different parts of India and interacted with school leaders and teachers. I have observed huge variations in the quality of education delivered. We have some great schools like those governed by the Krishnamurti Foundation India (KFI) that have revolutionised education and have inspired educators worldwide. But much change is needed in a majority of schools.

Change is happening. Some Indian schools have demonstrated inspiring leadership by investing in their teachers and empowering them to deliver effective pedagogical practices that include personalised education, peer teaching, integration of artificial intelligence, flipped classroom and learning that is interdisciplinary, experiential, collaborative and project based.

Over the years, many school heads told me how they have used survey parameters designed by us to assess and improve their performance. For instance, Dr. Skand Bali, the proactive Principal of Hyderabad Public School, used the ranking parameters and scores in identifying strengths and areas needing improvement. Based on the assessment, his team established clear, measurable goals. These included improving academic outcomes, increasing student engagement and fostering a positive school culture. To facilitate personalised education, he reduced student strength in every class section to 30, which earlier used to be over 40. Regular meetings and feedback sessions from all stakeholders ensured that everyone had a voice and felt invested in the school's success. Investing in professional development for teachers was crucial. Monthly professional development programmes were conducted to acquaint teachers of latest and effective pedagogy. All classrooms were equipped with smart/white boards and the usage of chalk was discontinued. Furniture was also changed to facilitate collaborative learning. “Changing teaching-learning culture is a gradual process that requires patience, persistence and strategic interventions”, says Dr.Bali. “We introduced a department of progressive learning headed by a professional adept at dealing with human resource issues. We worked to establish trust among the teacher community by encouraging open communication, listened to their concerns, and showed empathy towards their challenges. Recognizing and rewarding innovative teaching practices helped motivate teachers to try new methods.” This has resulted in a major turnaround of the school in last seven years and has now emerged as the top ranked school of the city. The steps taken by Dr. Bali can be emulated by many schools, especially the vintage ones resting on their past laurels and who have a large number of old teachers used to traditional inefficient methods of teaching.

Dr. Skand Bali, Leading the Change in Hyderabad Public School

The key differentiator of all the top ranked schools in the country is the proactive leadership that is not complacent and is constantly experimenting with pedagogical tools to make the teaching and learning process more student- friendly and relevant. For example, Lieutenant General(retired) Arjun Ray who heads Indus International Schools has focused on innovation for continuous transformation and self-improvement and has created new benchmarks in quality education. The school is perhaps the first in the world to use humanoid robots to assist teachers. Recognising this innovative collaborative learning model, Indus International School Bengaluru was amongst 13 schools out of over 5000 IB(international Baccalaureate) schools worldwide selected jointly by the IBO( IB Organization) and OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) to develop innovative pedagogical practices. These practices are to be shared with all member nations of the OECD. Says General Ray, “To prepare students for a VUCA future(volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity), we have moved on beyond the outdated focus on high exam scores and college placements and embraced a more holistic approach to learning where every learner is not just ready to face the future, but to create solutions to shape a better world for all.”

The other major contribution of General Ray to the landscape of Indian education is the establishment of ITARI(Indus Training and Research Institute), perhaps the best teacher training institute of India that has linkages with reputed foreign universities like Birmingham City University and Helsinki University.

Lt. General (retired) Arjun Ray & Dr Sarojini Rao with the Robot in Indus International School, Bengaluru: Creating new benchmarks in Education

Most top ranked schools are investing in teacher development and are also exploring integration of artificial intelligence in education for conceptual clarity and personalized education. “As we reach an inflection point where AI-enabled tutors can manage much of the content delivery that education has unfortunately been reduced to, we have a golden opportunity to truly transform education”, explains Manit Jain, co-founder of Heritage Schools. “Schools and teachers must move beyond this delivery model and focus their energies on rehumanizing education. Teachers will need to prioritize students' well-being and character development. They must inspire students while also holding them accountable. Teachers should be empowered beyond subject-specific skills to teach students about life, building relationships, and becoming contributing citizens. I envision a more community-oriented curriculum where students and teachers collaborate to address real-life problems in their local context. Achieving this will require a complete overhaul of our teacher education programs.”

Manit Jain, Co-founder of Heritage Schools, empowering teachers to rehumanize education.

Some schools are also exchanging teachers for durations varying between a few weeks to a few months with foreign schools. Such exchange programmes with schools within the country and abroad can also enhance a teacher’s professional growth and improves overall teaching effectiveness in the school. According to Revathi Srinivasan director of Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School in Thane, “exchange programmes have a butterfly effect in education. A single teacher’s experience abroad can unleash a whirlwind of inspiration, innovation and change in classrooms around the world.” Her school sends about 10 teachers to countries with better education systems every year as part of exchange programmes.

A teacher's competence is mirrored in the pedagogy. Heritage Xperiential School’s experiential learning approach is aimed at ensuring that learning has an authentic purpose, is engaging and instrumental in helping students address complex problems and find meaningful solutions. Learning Expeditions are designed to be academically rigorous, and to address core ideas and skills of the curriculum. Students are encouraged to research on real world problems and develop working prototypes of the solutions proposed, using the latest technology such as 3D printing, laser-cutting, wearable technology, etc.

Good schools also give high importance to relationship between all stakeholders especially relationship between teachers and students. Good relationships are basis of happiness and schools like Vega School in Gurugram believe that happy students learn best and happy teachers teach more effectively. The school administers structured questionnaires to students, teachers and parents to assess their happiness and relationships between them.

Revathi Srinivasan Director of Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School in Thane: Strong proponent of exchange programmes.

Some schools are working on social intelligence of students through personalised education. In Vasant Valley school in Delhi, one teacher mentor is assigned for 13 students who meet once every week. Teachers have been trained to work on cerebral, social, physical, emotional and spiritual aspect of every child and track their progress. In Heritage Xperiential Learning School, as part of the Passion Project, teachers connect to students through one to one interactions and try to understand their likes, dislikes, hobbies etc. The school also implements a comprehensive socio-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum from Nursery to Grade XII. Through SEL activities, discussions, and workshops, students develop essential skills such as self-awareness, social skills, empathy, and resilience.

Rekha Krishnan, Principal of Vasant Valley school, Delhi: Focus on strong teacher-student relationship.

Linked to social intelligence is the habit of reading. It's a challenge for schools to cultivate this habit among students and teachers. Research shows that besides improving the knowledge base, reading facilitates brain growth and has positive impact on communication, critical thinking, creativity and social intelligence. Many good schools are proactive in establishing an environment where reading is valued. This include setting up of reading corners in every classroom. They have a ‘DEAR’ (Drop Everything and Read) period where a break of about 15 minutes is given every day. Students have to pick up book of their choice and read. Schools like Step by Step in Noida and A. M Naik School in Mumbai reward students who read a certain number of books every year. Step by Step School runs a 40-book challenge. Students who read more than 40 books a year and also make presentation of what they have read get a special reward. Says Dr Mahesh Prasad, Principal of the school, “We strive to create a robust reading and writing programme that balances student choice with teacher prescribed assignments and provides a comprehensive and enriching literary experience.”In A.M Naik School the threshold number of the books to be read is 50. Indus International School in Bengaluru has extended this challenge to teachers too.

Dr Mahesh Prasad, Principal of Step by Step School, Noida: Cultivating Social Intelligence.

KFI Schools especially The Rishi Valley School in Chittoor and The Valley School in Bengaluru are role models for imparting personalised education and cultivating social intelligence. These schools don’t admit more than 20 students in a class section. Says Jayaram.S, director of The Valley school, “With the rapidly changing landscapes of the world experienced in the area of environmental degradation, religious polarization, political turmoil, social and technological changes that threaten fundamental human values, relationships becoming fragile and superficial at all levels, we feel the need to retain our focus clearly on the priorities of having the right approach to education.” Strongly rooted in the profound educational vision of J. Krishnamurti, these schools strive to provide an atmosphere for children to learn and blossom without getting smothered by fear characteristically infused by traditional tools adopted in schools - comparison, competition, reward and punishment. The schools emphasize on learning through observation, enquiry and self-discovery. To facilitate this the schools encourage reflection, relationship and learning at one’s own pace. Priority is given to make each child feel physically and psychologically secure and to adopt learning approaches that do not subscribe to the 'one-size-fits-all' methods.

Jayaram.S, director of The Valley school, Bengaluru: Role Model for Personalised Education

We are living in interesting and challenging times. Perhaps for the first time in human history, since land became a commodity, it is in realms of possibility that every human can have a good quality life without exploiting fellow beings. This is because of advancement of technology, especially artificial intelligence. Creation and right application of new knowledge is the mantra if we have to sustain a just society on this planet. At the same time technology combined with lack of social intelligence has potential to destroy our species. A lot depends on how we cultivate our human resources and schools have a big role to play in navigating the future. Those who have understood this responsibility are leading the change.