World Best School Prizes 2023: An independent international school in Gujarat and a charity school in Maharashtra are among the international institutions that were announced as finalists for the annual World’s Best School Prizes 2023 on Tuesday in London. The five World’s Best School Prizes – for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives – honour schools for the crucial role they play in educating the next generation of students and for their immense contribution to the advancement of society, particularly in the wake of COVID.
The Riverside School in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, was selected as one of the top three finalists in the “Innovation” category for its innovative, student-centered approach to education.
In the “Overcoming Adversity” category, Snehalaya English Medium School in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, is credited with transforming the lives of children living with HIV/AIDS to reach the top three.
Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, said, “You and your fellow finalists have inspired me with the leadership, vision, and culture you have fostered and for the exceptional teaching and learning environment you have created.”
5 Indian schools on shortlist for first-ever World’s Best School Prizes
World Best School Prizes 2023
“As the world attempts to address a worsening education crisis, these exemplary Indian institutions illuminate the way to a brighter future. It is time for governments everywhere to heed to your opinions and gain knowledge from your experience,” he said.
The recipients of the five prizes across all categories will be selected by a professional Judging Academy using stringent criteria and announced in November. A total of USD 250,000 will be divided equally among the victors, with each receiving USD 50,000.
In addition, digital media platform T4 Education has introduced this year a new “Community Choice Award” open to the 15 schools that comprise the Top 3 finalists across all five World’s Best School Prizes.
It will be given to the institution that receives the most votes in a public vote that began this week. The recipient of the Community Choice Award will receive membership to T4 Education’s new Best School to Work programme, an independent, evidence-based mechanism to certify schools for their culture and help them transform their working environment to attract and retain the best teachers.
The Riverside School distinguished itself with its “I CAN pedagogical model” and introduction of the Feel, Imagine, Do, Share (FIDS) programme, as well as an online training platform utilised by numerous institutions.
Top 3 Finalists
The platform has reached 2 million children through the Design for Change School, and Riverside has conducted state-wide, remote, and in-person workshops to train over 1,000 government schoolteachers on the FIDS framework and its applicability in their respective contexts.
According to the World’s Best School Prizes, the Riverside School has had a significant impact on education through its student-centered approach, innovative pedagogical model, and pervasive dissemination of the FIDS programme.
If the school wins the World’s Best School Prize for Innovation, it plans to expand the FIDS programme’s reach by creating more digital learning content and providing research- and practice-based resources to schools and educators worldwide so that more children graduate with its “I CAN Mindset.”
In the meantime, the Ahmednagar Snehalaya English Medium School has been attributed with rewriting the narrative for marginalised communities in semirural India.
With 25 per cent of the school’s students being HIV+ and an even higher proportion being children of sex workers, the school’s students face systemic discrimination. The school overcame initial difficulties in recruiting students from non-disadvantaged backgrounds by connecting with village leaders who convened meetings with parents to discuss their concerns openly and assuage their fears.
According to the World’s Best School Prizes, Snehalaya English Medium School believes in empowering students beyond the classroom, enabling them to learn from changemakers, international volunteers, teachers, and leaders, and inspiring them to become socially conscious and accepting.
If Snehalaya English Medium School wins the World’s Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity, the school says it will use the award to expand its education programme, allowing more children to benefit from its innovative approach to education, promoting inclusivity, and dispelling stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS and sex work.
T4 Education established the World’s Best School Prizes in 2022 in order to share the best practises of schools that are transforming the lives of their students and making a genuine difference in their communities.
