'With just 2 teachers': ZP School Jalindarnagar wins World’s Best School 2025 award for ‘Subject Friend model’

Once started with only three students, a Zila Parishad (ZP) School Jalindarnagar in Maharashtra has now won the Community Choice Award in the World’s Best School 2025 category.

The public primary school in the Taluka Khed district has been awarded by T4 Education, a UK-based global education forum for its new methodology of providing student-led learning with the ‘Subject Friend system’ model.

“Subject Friend system, a peer-learning model where students of different ages teach and learn from each other. In a community facing socioeconomic challenges, what began with three students in a school on the verge of being closed down has become a leading model set to reshape the way public schools across India approach education and build classrooms of the future,” according to a report by the T4 education platform.

Equipped with only two full-time teachers, Dattatray Ware Guruji, one of them at the ZP School Jalindarnagar introduced the Subject Friend system on the belief that children learn better from their peers.

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'Parallel Support Peer Model'

The system brings students of different ages into groups, with an older, more knowledgeable student taking on the role of subject leader. Followed by helping the younger ones with their studies.

This methodology allows students to learn through teaching and understanding. The young students gain confidence in engaging and asking questions within this “parallel support peer model.”

“The true value of the Subject Friend system lies in how it empowers students to create inclusive classrooms focused on collaboration instead of competition, ensuring that no student is left behind. In this space, everything the students do becomes part of their collective stewardship, from learning together to eating together to tending the school's gardens together,” the platform said in its report.

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Robotics, electronics part of curriculum

Starting with only three students, the ZP School Jalindarnagar now serves 120 students, and its Subject Friend System education model has been accepted by the government for implementation in other schools across the country, the report added.

With only two teachers, the curriculum of the school includes coding, programming, robotics, and electronics, along with multilingual learning.

“Through this transformative teaching methodology, the school has successfully changed the mindset that public schools have no future, which has significantly improved educational standards,” the report said.

In addition, several community groups have also stepped forward in transforming the school’s infrastructure. Skilled individuals and parents are volunteering to teach electronics, carpentry, plumbing, languages, and science skills to students.