By EFTeam India’s education system is one of the largest in the world, and that’s pretty understandable too looking at the fact that there are millions of school-going kids right here in the country, right? And that’s precisely why there are hundreds and thousands of schools in India as of 2025, like, as per a report from 2022, there were as many as 14,89,115. That’s mainly because there are many school chains in the country, and they have schools in every part of India. But, what if we skip past all those dozens of school chains and only talk about the best ones so far? Oh, yes, we’re talking about a list here, you know, a list about the top 10 biggest school chains in India as of 2025. So, let’s just get started with the first one, shall we?
1. Vidya Bharati Schools
Alright, how about we start with the biggest school chain in the country first? And sure enough, many of you have seen it come miles away, yes, it is actually the Vidya Bharti Schools that ranks first. Why exactly? Well, that’s pretty apparent to be honest, like, they have about 13,000 formal schools and around 10,000 informal ones throughout the country, and that is too big of a number if you think about it for a sec. And just for a little bit of history there, it first started back in 1952 and do you even know how many students they have enrolled as of 2025? 3 million!
2. Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV)
And then, well, many of you may have an idea of KV aka Kendriya Vidyalaya school chain being the biggest one, but how big are we talking about? Oh, so big that they made it to the 2nd spot of this list, you know, with around 1,253 schools in the country, and about 1.4 million kids enrolled as of 2025. How about that now? And for a little bit of history here again, you see, this whole operation of their actually started way back in 1963, and by 2025, they have more than 43,000 teachers working for them.
3. Delhi Public School (DPS)
DPS? Oh yes, we had to include them on this list, after all, they really are among the biggest school chains in the country, but how big are we talking about? Well, compared to some other schools on this list, DPS is with a number count of about 215 to 220 schools, but that’s pretty big of a school chain right there too. Ever since they started in 1949, they have kept on just growing and growing, and now, they’re at this level to be ranked as the 3rd largest school chain in the country.
4. DAV (Dayanand Anglo-Vedic) Schools
If we had to talk about the oldest professional schools in the country, we would dare to miss the name of Dayanand Anglo-Vedic, like, it all started way back in 1886 for them. Can you even imagine that, like, it is more than a century now? Though today, DAV operates 206 schools in India and 11 abroad, just be aware of that. And for those who are still wondering, yes, this is one of the largest non-governmental educational networks in the country, with over 20 lakh students and 50,000 teachers, you know?
5. Ryan International Group
Coming up next, what if an International school chain made it to this list? Well, that’s precisely what has happened, and this one has more than 150 schools in India as well as in some other nations too. Yes, we’re talking about the 1976 established Ryan International Schools. And yes, we’re pretty certain that they’re THE BEST ones and the number as big as 2.5 million students enrolled here, just shows us that.
6. Podar Education Network
Coming at number six is the Podar educational network is one more name we should briefly talk about. First of all, they have about 140 international schools, 105 partner schools and 400 preschools right here in the country, so yes, their network is BIG. And talking about the student count, well, they together, teach more than 230,000 children with the support of 8,000+ teachers. The best bit about it all is that the curricula like CBSE, ICSE, IGCSE, IB and SSC, is available with these schools which is just impressive.
7. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV)
How about another Indian government-run school chain that is doing phenomenally well in the country? And if you don’t get it yet, well, yes, we’re referring to the JNV schools aka the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya school chain. Like, those who don’t know yet, these schools were established in 1986 with a unique purpose of finding and educating talented students of rural areas and providing them free and quality education, and that’s why they’re so famous. As a matter of fact, well, there are 661 JNV schools in India nowadays with more than 280,000 students.
8. Maharishi Vidya Mandir Schools
Coming next, well, Maharishi Vidya Mandir Schools, or MVM, are different from other schools as they give a lot of importance to meditation and yoga, you know? Again, a little bit of history here, you see, these schools started in the year 1991 and have expanded to over 150 schools. Currently, they are teaching more than 80,000 students with the help of 6,000 teachers.
9. The Vibgyor Group
Yes, yes, we get it, the Vibgyor Group Of Schools is one of the newer school chains in India, so what? They’re doing pretty great, and that’s what matters, right? All in all, Vibgyor has opened over 40 schools since 2004 with 50000 plus students enrolled across India, which is just impressive. Like, you can get your kid enrolled in ICSE, CBSE or CAIE school! Vibgyor Schools’ teaching involves personalized learning, which means a lot of focus and care given to every child.
10. Billabong High International Schools
And last on the list, well, if we talk about one of the most successful private school chains in the list, we’d certainly list the Billabong High International School which started out back in 2000. Like, more than 20,000 students are already enrolled in over 30 Billabong schools. And just so you know, affiliated with major boards like CBSE, ICSE, and Cambridge International, these schools deliver competitive education globally.
Conclusion
Alright, see, if we go by the numbers here, yes, these had to be the biggest school chains in India as of 2025, no two ways about that. Not just the biggest though, these are also the best school chains in the country, so if you’re a parent reading this, think of these school chains as the options to enrol your kids in.