Ultra-low cost Indian school named among best in the world for climate work

It's among three schools in India that enjoyed record success in the World's Best School Prizes

CM Rise School Vinoba, in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, won the World’s Best School prize for innovation. Photo: CM Rise School Vinoba, Ratlam

CM Rise School Vinoba engages pupils by focusing on their experiences. Photo: CM Rise School Vinoba, Ratlam

Instead of days-long teacher training, CM Rise School Vinoba runs group huddles daily for staff development. Photo: CM Rise School Vinoba, Ratlam

A classroom activity at CM Rise School Vinoba. The state school takes children from kindergarten through secondary years. Photo: CM Rise School Vinoba, Ratlam

Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj, in Delhi, won the World’s Best School prize for environmental action. Photo: Ryan International School

Pupils at Ryan International, an independent school, working on environmental initiatives in the community. Source: Ryan International School

A music activity at Ryan International School, which teaches pupils about water scarcity and pollution using hydroponics and biogas plants. Photo: Ryan International School

Kalvi International Public School in India won the Community Choice Award. Photo: Kalvi International Public School

Three enterprising Indian schools have won global recognition for their efforts to deliver top-quality education to impoverished communities, embrace technology to combat water scarcity and pollution, and use the power of sport to help young learners succeed.

India became the first country to secure three awards in the annual World’s Best School Prizes, announced on Thursday. The event, established in 2022, is organised by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture, American Express and the Lemann Foundation.

The international award honours the top schools in five categories – community collaboration, environmental action, innovation, overcoming adversity and supporting healthy lives, while a community choice award is decided by a vote among the 50 shortlisted schools.

CM Rise School Vinoba, Ratlam, in Madhya Pradesh, secured the innovation prize, with Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj, in Delhi, earning the environmental action accolade and Kalvi International Public School, in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, winning the community choice award.

They will share a $50,000 prize fund with three other global winners and will be invited to the World Schools Summit in Dubai on November 23 and November 24. The winners were chosen by an expert judging academy based on rigorous criteria.

Top of the class

“Indian schools have stormed the World's Best School Prizes this year and truly made history,” said Vikas Pota, founder and chief executive of T4 Education.

“Of the five prizes, chosen by an independent judging academy of leading global figures, and the Community Choice Award, decided by a public vote, we have seen a record three Indian winners.

“No country has ever had as many winners as India. It is a ringing endorsement of the innovation and expertise bound up in India's education system and it is proof that outstanding educational practices can be found everywhere, not just in highly resourced nations.”

Turning around attendance and exam pass rates

CM Rise School Vinoba has made remarkable progress in recent years. Photo: CM Rise School Vinoba

In 2021, CM Rise School Vinoba, Ratlam struggled with low enrolment rates and attendance was poor. The school implemented a programme to motivate teachers through group huddles and professional development on a daily basis. It integrated learning into the local festivals and started hosting early-morning sports sessions to encourage pupils to attend school.

Since then, the school has been able to raise pupils' attendance from 25 per cent to more than 85 per cent and improved exam pass rates from 29 per cent to 96 per cent.

“We never had thought that in our lives there will be a day that our school will top of the world,” said Gajendra Singh Rathore, high school principal. “Our pupils are from the marginalised communities and they help their parents at home or are busy playing outdoors in the slum areas, so they would not come to school.

“We made a plan and called it Cycle of Growth. We planned huddle spaces where we could play games with teachers and organised entertainment for them.

“Then, we started going into classrooms and observing the teachers so that their efforts could be recognised and they could get one-on-one feedback. We took our school projects and models to the community and made it part of their festivals and used the community as a learning resource.”

They also started teaching children English in addition to Hindi, put in place a senior leadership team that helps to monitor teachers, and organised virtual parent-teacher meetings.

“We used to come up with new ideas and we struggled every day to turn those ideas into reality. It's an exciting and thrilling experience to be ranked top among thousands of schools worldwide,” said Mr Rathore.

“The selection made by the international organisation T4 Education has breathed new life into government education in Madhya Pradesh and has proved that effective innovations made in small towns can also be recognised globally.”

The state school provides free education to children up to grade eight, and older children have to pay a nominal fee of about 1,000 Indian rupees (Dh43).

The school will use the award money to build a learning and development laboratory where children can gain new skills such as soldering, or work on a model or a project. They also hope to hire sports coaches for pupils and invest in teachers’ professional development.

Laying foundations for greener future

Pupils at Ryan International School working on environmental initiatives in the community. Photo: Ryan International School

Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj, an independent school teaching children from kindergarten to secondary years, aims to educate the next generation about water scarcity and pollution through the use of hydroponics and biogas plants.

The school has introduced environmental education across all grades and blended the Indian curriculum with environmental projects.

“Our school’s environmental efforts stand out because of our holistic approach, integrating both innovative technology and hands-on community engagement,” Anuradha Sharma, regional co-ordinator at the Ryan group of schools, said. “We focus on not just teaching sustainability in theory, but actively involving students in meaningful projects.”

The school is showing pupils how to harness smart irrigation technology, including sensor-based farming, to boost crop yields and provide extra income for farmers. The high-tech systems also eliminate the need for traditional slash-and-burn practices, improving air quality.

“Our water conservation efforts and the Each One Plant One campaign have led to over 5,000 saplings planted in Delhi,” said Ms Sharma. These efforts have gained recognition on a national level and from India’s Ministry of Environment.

At the school, fees typically start from around 22,000 Indian rupees (Dh961) per quarter in pre-school. The school intends to use the prize funds to expand its use of technology to support the environment and to establish a start-up incubator for pupil-led environmental projects.

Empowering pupils

Pupils at Kalvi International Public chool are being helped to fulfil their potential. Photo: T4 Education

Kalvi International Public School, an independent school in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, won the Community Choice Award, and empowers pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The school integrates sports in education and since its inception in 2018, the school has engaged 2,359 pupils in sports, reducing juvenile delinquency.

The school's efforts have led to 15 pupils reaching national championships. The education group has a number of schools in India, which have annual fees ranging from 26,000 Indian rupees (Dh1,135) to 50,000 Indian rupees (Dh2,184).

Global winners

The First Ukrainian School in Poland by the Unbreakable Ukraine Foundation, which started as a charity school in March 2022 and now serves 1,500 Ukrainian refugee children, has won the World’s Best School Prize for overcoming adversity.

Istituto Galilei-Costa-Scarambone in Italy won the prize for supporting healthy lives. The state secondary school in Lecce, Italy, has worked to combat bullying and improve mental well-being through its student-led initiative, Mabasta.

The scheme was launched in 2016 after a pupil attempted suicide due to bullying. It is a youth movement that fights against all forms of bullying, cyberbullying, and body shaming.

Colegio María de Guadalupe in Argentina won the global prize for community collaboration. The independent school in Buenos Aires works to empowers economically vulnerable pupils with a model that blends academic learning with professional development so that children have better employment outcomes.