The Daly College, Indore

Established to educate the children of royalty of Central India, Daly College has maintained its holistic education traditions and is ranked among India’s most respected K-12 schools

Undoubtedly the academic jewel in the collective crown of the cluster of princely states known as the Central Provinces during the heyday of the British raj, The Daly College, Indore (DC, estb. 1882) which currently has an aggregate enrolment of 1,905 students instructed by a faculty of 168, has maintained and developed its scholastic traditions as the most respected day-cum-boarding school of the Hindi heartland state of Madhya Pradesh (pop. 60 million). Although it maintains a low public profile, Daly College was ranked among the top 10 boarding schools countrywide in the EducationWorld-C fore India’s Most Respected Schools Survey 2009, and was particularly well rated on the parameters of infrastructure and value for money.

“Over the past 127 years since it was established, The Daly College has developed a strong egalitarian ethos. Today this co-educational school with 608 girl students is a down-to-earth institution committed to holistic education and personal development opportunities rooted in strong values. We believe that all students are equal regardless of the financial or social status of their parents, and must make their own mark within the community. Each student’s individuality is respected and he/she is taught to compete against herself rather than others. Similarly good behaviour is inculcated not to impress others, but to enhance one’s own self respect,” says Sumer Singh, the highly experienced principal of DC.

An alumnus of The Doon School, Dehradun and St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, Singh began his academic career as a teacher in the Lawrence School, Sanawar and taught in several schools in Britain including Gordonstoun, and the Atlantic United World College, Wales before returning to India as principal of Lawrence, Sanawar (1988-95). Subsequently after establishing himself as a Delhi-based education consultant (1995-2003), he accepted an invitation to head the CBSE-affiliated DC as principal in 2003.

DC was originally promoted in 1870 as the Indore Residency College by the rajahs or chiefs of the princedoms of Central India, to provide British educa-tion to their sons on the prompting of Lt. General Sir Henry D. Daly (1824-1895), former commander of the Central India Horse and Hodson’s Horse regiments who was appointed the governor general’s agent for Central India in 1869. In 1876 the school was rechristened the Indore Residency Coll-ege, and six years later when Sir Henry retired in 1882, the Rajput, Maratha, Bundela and Muslim chiefs renamed the institution The Daly College, in appreciation of his contributions to the cause of education in Central India.

In 1905 when Sir Henry’s son, Sir Hugh Daly became the governor-general’s agent at Indore, Maharajah Tukoji Rao Holkar of Indore donated 118 acres of land, east of the old campus prompting several princes to build student houses, a temple, mosque and the principal’s residence on campus. The construction of Daly College’s show-piece main building designed in the typically sub-continental  Indo-Saracenic style by Col. Sir Swinton Jacob (1841-1917), began at the same time. Built from high quality marble mined in the Udaipur quarries, it was officially inaugurated on November 8, 1912 by the governor-general of India, Lord Harding. Spread over a built-up area of 28,000 sq. metres, this heritage building houses 700 high-ceilinged rooms, including residences, 120 classrooms, and 18 turrets and balconies presided over by a magnificent marble clock tower.

The school’s 360 male and 120 girl boarders are housed in vintage dormi-tory accommodation with easy access to a plethora of games and sports as well as facilities for cultural and co-curricular activities which include two Ranji Trophy cricket grounds, seven hockey and football fields, nine deco-turf (synthetic surface) tennis courts, eight glass-backed squash courts, three swimming pools, horse-riding facilities, outdoor and indoor shooting ranges, a skating rink, and a fully air conditioned auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,200. Little wonder that in the EW-C fore India’s Most Respected Schools Survey 2009, DC was rated among the country’s top three boarding schools in terms of infrastructure provision.

Although in the time-honoured tradition of British-style public schools, there is heavy emphasis on sports education at DC, after Sumer Singh took charge as principal of the school in June 2003 and discerned a “lack of stimulation and motivation to excel academically”, the academic performance of this CBSE-affiliated K-12 school has improved substantially. Despite heavy pressure for admissions, class strength seldom exceeds 25-30, and the school maintains an excellent 1:12 teacher-pupil ratio.

In 2009 the percentage of students who passed the class X and XII CBSE board examinations in the first division was 86.5 and 93 percent respectively, with 57 percent passing with distinction. Nevertheless given his wide experience of academia in India and abroad, it’s hardly surprising that Singh is inclined to define education in much broader terms than mere academic excellence. Therefore taking cognizance of the newly emergent globalised economy, he has strengthened DC’s involvement with the London-based Round Square International schools fraternity founded by holistic education savant Kurt Hahn (who also established the 13 United World Colleges around the world).

Looking ahead, Singh is optimistic about this vintage school with excellent academic and sports traditions playing an important role in transforming 21st century India into a globally respected hub of high-quality school education. “With India’s best schools providing world class holistic English-medium   education at a fraction of the prices demanded by private schools abroad, given minimal government encourage-ment and increased private-public partnerships, this is a real possibility. I am very confident about India’s best schools attracting students from around the world,” says Singh.

Although he is too modest to say so, quite obviously he has the Daly College development blueprint in mind.

Dilip Thakore (Indore)