Sky is the limit for satellite town students

Cities such as Thane, Kalyan and Navi Mumbai have left Mumbai behind when it comes to school toppers

The island city may be where the buzz is, but for some quiet pursuit of academic excellence there is no beating Mumbai’s satellite towns. If the recent STD X and XII results are anything to go by, it is raining toppers in Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Kalyan.

This year’s CBSE and ICSE toppers in class X and XII were from Navi Mumbai and Thane, respectively. Thursday’s SSC results again established the supremacy of the satellite towns over Mumbai with all the toppers, barring one, hailing from Kalyan and Thane.

The year 2008 saw Thane’s Janki Seth, a student of the Sulochanadevi Singhania School, top the country in the ICSE examination. Navi Mumbai contributed its own share of toppers with Sravya Kotaru (science) and Nikita Sisaudia (commerce) scoring the highest in Mumbai division in the CBSE Std XII examination.

Thursday’s results only added more points to the satellite towns’ tally. Both Madhura Naik from Badlapur and Pratik Ramdasi from Dombivli topped the Mumbai division in the SSC.

This is not a new phenomenon. Last year, Renuka Deshpande from Saraswati Secondary School in Thane had topped the Mumbai division in SSC. In 2005, Hrishikesh Terdalkar from Adarsh Vidya Mandir in Badlapur had topped in the SSC.

Similarly, 2007 ISC topper Sana Suri was from Thane’s Sulochanadevi Singhania School.

With many working parents choosing to settle down in the satellite towns owing to escalating property prices in Mumbai, a number of top-quality educational institutes have emerged in these areas.

Students from these areas no longer have to travel to Mumbai to avail of good education. While institutions such as the DAV Group of Schools, Sulochanadevi Singhania, and Father Agnel are the most sought, DY Patil Engineering College and University, Terna Medical College, and Bharati Vidyapeeth Engineering Institute are among the preferred destinations for higher studies.

Basanti Roy, Mumbai division secretary of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, attributes the rise of satellite towns as educational hubs to the migration of people there. “Mumbai is fast losing its residential population,” Roy says. “Many people have settled down in satellite cities.” Schools in these cities have raised their educational standards and fewer people want to travel all the way to Mumbai to study.

SSC topper Madhura Naik of Adarsha High School, Badlapur, says it is the students’ hard work coupled with cooperation from teachers that has led to the outstanding results of satellite towns. “Far away from the bustling city, it is easier to focus,” she says. A calm environment in the absence of high expectations helped her to reach the top, she says.

Renuka Deshpande, the 2007 SSC topper, says earlier students from satellite cities rushed to Mumbai colleges just to be part of the hip crowd. “But now, with top colleges such as Vaze Kelkar and Bandodkar offering the same quality closer home, students prefer to study here,” she says. Renuka took admission at Kelkar College in Mulund.

Educationists say satellite cities are also producing toppers because of the large number of highly qualified parents.

“Residents here are technically educated and their children have similar inclinations,” says Revathi Srinivasan, principal, Singhania School. “They are more ambitious and focused with their children’s education.”

Harsha Mehta, principal, SIES College, says there are many good colleges and coaching classes in the satellite cities and students do not want to waste time travelling to Mumbai.

Raj Aloni, principal, Sir JJ School for Boys, Fort, says the working class has shifted to the suburbs and the city is left with the very affluent or the poor. Besides, students in Mumbai have many distractions.

Several well-known institutes such as the Ryan International Group and Mahesh Tutorials are setting up base in Thane and Navi Mumbai. “The satellite towns are emerging as major educational hubs,” says Milind Choksi, head of western region, Mahesh Tutorials. “There is a huge demand for coaching classes there.”