CRAZE FOR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS

He may not have born with a silver spoon though. But with steely determination and hard work, he climbed up the ladder. It was two decades of hard struggle,   perseverance and not to forget the highly-demanding growth targets he was able to achieve in a tough competitive market… it’s really hard toil all the way. Aditya Krishnamohan, now a chief executive officer in a major multinational company, could recall every step he had climbed with a vivid detail. However, with a mischievous smile, he skips the topic to come back to the present. Deep inside his heart he knows how difficult or near-impossible for someone like him, hailing from a low middle class family in a Tier-2 town in Andhra Pradesh to reach the top echelons of a major corporate company in the world. It’s true that not everyone can boast of such a success in his life like this dynamic young CEO of a start-up company in Silicon City of India, Bangalore.

Now, Krishnamohan doesn’t want his son to struggle the same way to reach the highest position in his life. Rather he wants to impart his son with the best-of the-class world standard education so that he can make a headstart in his life. It’s a tough task though. But Krishnamohan is determined. Known for his hard-work, he began the search for the best of the schools in Bangalore, where he is currently placed, to join his four-year old son! One wonders, is that much of a preparation required to join a young kid in a primary school.

But Krishnamohan is unlike a many of the present-day fathers. He values education and knows how important to have a good foundation for his son. So he began search for the best of the schools available in his locality in the right earnest. But it was not an easy task. It took him several months to find the school of his choice. Finally, he chose an international school of repute. All is fine. But the school fee is too much for his pockets.  It was more than Rs one lakh for a Class-I student, which is not a small amount in any standards. This raises the question. How much fee one needs to pay for a Class-I student, be it an international school of repute. Certainly, not Rs one lakh plus as being the case with Krishnamohan’s son.  

With rising competition and huge expectations, zeroing on right school is proving to be a difficult task to make for many parents like Krishnamohan. Every parent wants to give his son/daughter best of the possible education to make a right beginning in the school.  However, several schools are making a killing of this. They may be providing the kind of environment for a kid to blossom in the early age. But the fee structure is a big worrisome. Several international schools have come up in the metro cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai in the recent times. All these schools no doubt maintain certain standards. But more than this, the way they go forward about advertising about themselves, may land you in soup. Then, what exactly an international school is all about.  International school of education does not only mean academics but much more than that. It’s providing an allround growth path for your child. A right environment for a starter to make good foundation for his/her future endeavors.

With the advent of modern technology the training methods have undergone a sea change.  Many schools are using multimedia techniques to give a better understanding to the students. What international schools claim is that they adapt analytical methods so that a child can achieve an allround development.  Yet another fact is non-academic training including sports, music, interactive sessions all play a vital part in child’s allround growth.

There are quite a number of international schools located all over the country now. These schools not only attract local students but also foreign students pursuing international education.  The fee structure in these schools may be high of Indian standards but many say, these schools are really charging far lesser than those in many other countries. That makes India an attractive option for many outsiders, particularly for the Non-resident Indians (NRIs). Certainly, international schools offer better infrastructure, quality teachers and they do focus on allround development of the student. Many top international schools in the country generally follow the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) or the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma programme. However, many international schools in Hyderabad follow Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) or Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum. These schools generally have the following subjects: Languages, Arts, Mathematics, Sciences, Humanities, Physical education and Information Technology as well.
CBSE or ISCE?

It’s really tough to select which is the best form of education of these two.  CBSE syllabus and ICSE syllabus each have their own merits and demerits. Most of the schools in Hyderabad follow the CBSE syllabus as it is very useful for most of the competitive examinations in India. ICSE syllabus is preferred for English improvement and it is a simpler syllabus compared to CBSE.  Finally, it is the choice of the parents as they are the better judges to decide which syllabus is the most suited one for their child.

The CBSE board prepares the syllabus from Lower Kindergarten (LKG) to Class 12 for schools affiliated to it. The curriculum is set by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The board conducts India’s two nation-wide board examinations: the All India Secondary School Examination for Class 10 and the All India Senior School Certificate Examination for Class 12.
The ICSE was established by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. Previously called the Senior Cambridge, it was adopted for Indian requirements. The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) is the examination conducted by the Council for Class X and the Indian School Certificate (ISC) is the examination for Class XII.
To add to confusion, there are some schools which offer integrated syllabus, combing the CBSE, ICSE with state syllabus, particularly from Class IX, since the key subject of Mathematics is particularly good in state syllabus. But many opt for CBSE syllabus, since the CBSE exams are application based, while the ICSE exams are knowledge, understanding, application and skill-set based. The CBSE syllabus is considered to be of intensive type, on the other hand, the ICSE if of more extensive. To elaborate, in the CBSE system of teaching, there are more objective kind of questions, which prepare students for national-level competitive exams. Under the ICSE board, projects are an integral part of the curriculum, which helps develop analytical skills in a student. As one student pointed out,   “The ICSE board offers its students strong concepts since the syllabus encourages students to address a topic in detail and research it thoroughly.” According to her, students have very good grounding for mathematics in the ICSE syllabus. She adds that the portions covered under the CBSE syllabus is vast and hence requires rigorous schooling to get it all covered.
There is a distinct advantage of studying in CBSE syllabus as most of the competitive entrance exams at the all-India level are based on this particular syllabus, as it is with IIT-JEE, AIEEE etc. Typically, parents keen on their kids taking up any of these entrances prefer the CBSE syllabus for their children. However, when it comes to taking up entrance exams outside of India, for example SAT and TOEFL, teachers seem to recommend the ICSE syllabus over CBSE. In the ICSE syllabus, there’s a clear emphasis on English and its literature. As one student, studying in ICSE school said, “English grammar is taught in a very systematic way under the ICSE syllabus. On the other hand, in CBSE schools the English taught is more functional and oriented for communication since it addresses the needs of all kinds of students, irrespective of their geographical location.” However, most CBSE students say that they find it harder to switch to ICSE at higher levels, whereas ICSE students are able make the shift easily. The ICSE syllabus is quite heavy when compared to that of CBSE syllabus.

Finally, how worthwhile these international schools are? Do they really offer international curriculum in their schools. Many say, these schools do offer qualitative education catering to allround development of a student. If you can afford the best education for your child, like in the case of Krishnamohan, then why to compromise on education, which is absolutely very important factor in allround development of a child. Similarly, schools too must disclose the correct information to parents about the facilities they are offering to the students and whether they are truly of international standard.  There is no denying the fact that international education prepares children for a multicultural future and offers the best of both worlds; the traditional and the modern. And, it is finally the choice of the parents to opt for the best school for their children.