Five Indian schools on shortlist for World’s Best School Prizes 2023

London: Five inspirational Indian schools in Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra were on Thursday named in the top 10 shortlists across different categories for the second annual USD 250,000 World’s Best School Prizes, organised in the UK to celebrate schools worldwide for their enormous contribution to society’s progress.

The five World’s Best School Prizes – for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives – celebrate schools for the pivotal role they play in developing the next generation of learners and for their enormous contribution to society’s progress, especially in the wake of COVID.

This year’s Indian shortlist has schools from Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the running for the prize – founded last year by UK-headquartered T4 Education and organised in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, Yayasan Hasanah, and the Lemann Foundation.

“Schools across the globe will learn from the story of these trailblazing Indian institutions and the culture they have cultivated,” said Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes.

“The schools shortlisted for the World’s Best School Prizes, no matter where they can be found or what they teach, all have one thing in common – they all have a strong school culture; their leaders know how to attract and motivate exceptional educators, inspire change, and build excellent teaching and learning environments,” he said.

Among the Indian schools to make the cut includes Nagar Nigam Pratibha Baalika Vidhyalaya (NPBV) F-Block, Dilshad Colony-1st, a government school in Delhi in the Community Collaboration category for breaking through the traditional mould to provide community-based interventions and support to bridge the gap between teachers, students, and parents.

Shortlisted in the same category is Oberoi International School, an independent international school in Mumbai for bringing hope, empathy, and shared possibility to its students and surrounding communities.

The Riverside School, an independent international school in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which has gained worldwide recognition for its groundbreaking, student-centric approach to education, particularly through its "I CAN" pedagogical model, has been made the shortlist for the World’s Best School Prize for Innovation.

Snehalaya English Medium School, a charity school in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, which has transformed the lives of children living with HIV/AIDS and those from sex worker families and ended second-generation prostitution in its district, has been shortlisted for the World’s Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity.

Finally, Shindewadi Mumbai Public School (The Akanksha Foundation), a charter school in Mumbai, is in the running in the Supporting Healthy Lives category for attempting to reverse the impact of low immunity and poor nutrition among its student body and wider community after the lockdown.

The Prizes were established in 2022 by the digital media platform T4 Education to share the best practices of schools that are transforming the lives of their students and making a real difference in their communities. The top three finalists for each of the five World’s Best School Prizes will be announced in September, followed by the winners in October.

T4 Education said the winner of each prize will be chosen based on rigorous criteria by a "Judging Academy" comprising distinguished leaders across the globe, including academics, educators, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, government, civil society, and the private sector.

The prize money of USD 250,000 will be equally shared among the winners of the five Prizes, with each receiving an award of USD 50,000.