10-16 August 2012
{ Shilpy Arora / FG }
S
mriti Kalra, mother of a nine-year-old, doesn’t feel like a regular parent. She doesn’t have to sit with him for homework. She doesn’t have to take part in her son’s project every evening. Aryan, her son, doesn’t have to ‘mug up’ old English poems; instead, the students and teachers write their own poems. Children play chess, swim and make pottery, during school hours. Aryan goes to the Excelsior American School, one of the ‘new-age schools’ in the City. The School follows the Cambridge International Primary Programme and International Baccalaureate (IB) – curriculums, aimed at developing holistic skills in a child. Many parents are opting for such schools, that offer ‘stress-free’ international methodologies of education. According to Ramesh Talwar, a retired educationist, the trend to put one’s children in the most famous school of the City is now passé. “The ‘newage parents’ are considering quality of time spent over a brand name. They want to keep their wards away from ‘academic pressure’ and ‘starchy teachers’. Schools offering an international curriculum, therefore, seem the best bet for them.” R. Vijayalakshmi, who pulled out her daughter from DPS, to put her in Scottish High International School, seconds that. She says, “The CBSE curriculum prepares a student for a test, not for life. They offer the typical ‘chalk and talk’ format of teaching, which stuffs the child with dated information. IB, on the other hand, helps instil skills to analyse, understand, and apply knowledge within a context. Gurgaon, that was once known for the traditional Gurukul system of education, now boasts a number of newage schools, offering world class facilities and international curriculums. While there were just seven IB schools in the City in 2010, today there are over 15. Initially set up for the children of expatriates, IB schools are gaining popularity among Indian parents too.
IB in India – ‘Old is Passe’
Despite the IB diploma being approved by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), and considered as an equivalent degree to Class 12th, it is not accepted in most of the Indian Universities. Renowned Indian Universities, such as IIT and DU, turn down IB students. One reason is the clash of dates. IB results are announced in the month of July, by when admissions in most Indian colleges are over. Hence, the entry is possible only the following year. Unlike CBSE, or other Indian boards, a predicted score is given in IB, by a school teacher. The Predicted score is a prediction of the score that a student is capable of scoring in the examination. As Indian teachers are not well-versed with
Y oung A dult
The Board Game
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send my kids abroad, but I want my kids to have the ‘IB experience’, which will help them become global citizens,” says Nupur Khandelwal.
CBSE – ‘Old is Gold’
Students of Excelsior American School
the IB curriculum, most times a mismatch between predicted and real scores plays spoil sport. “If actual marks fall short of the predicted marks, it leads to the cancellation of the seat in a college. That is why universities don’t offer admission on the basis of predicted scores,” says Ramesh Talwar. The Director of Lancers International School, Harshita Mann, seems to have a different view. “Last year, four of our students secured admission to Delhi University, on the basis of predicted scores. The issue is not the IB board. The issue is the less number of seats offered by Indian Universities. As any college in DU doesn’t have more than 30 seats for a course, they find it difficult to give provisional entry. They prefer giving admission to those who have already appeared in an examination, and have ‘real’ scores in hand,” says Harshita. She feels that the lack of understanding of the subjects studied by IB students is another major issue. Dipti Srivastava, a DU aspirant, had a hard time obtaining admission
The IB programme has three different stages – the Primary Year Programme (PYP), for children aged 3 to11; the Middle Year Programme (MYP) for students between the ages of 11 and 16; and the Diploma Programme (DP), that is equivalent to CBSE’s 11th and 12th standard. in an Art course, as the college faculty couldn’t understand her subjects. “I briefed them about my subjects, such as “Theory of Knowledge”. Most of them didn’t know it covered a range of topics – like History, Philosophy, and even Maths,” says Dipti. Many feel that the methodology and delivery of content offered by IB makes children more competitive. IB is more practical and application based. It believes in the all-round development of children. “IB tests the students’ knowledge, reasoning, and problemsolving skills – not just their
memory. Students passing out from an IB school perform better in entrance examinations such as CAT, NMAT, FMS, and GMAT,” says a counsellor at Triumphant Institute of Management Education, Sector 14. “Another interesting element, which is completely missing in the curriculums offered by Indian boards, is the integration of knowledge. In IB, children learn how Maths is used in Poetry, in terms of rhythm and meter,” points out Shalini Nambiar, Director of Excelsior American School. The IB curriculum also focuses on intercultural awareness, which helps students in getting an easier admission in foreign universities. International schools like Pathways World School, which has students from over 40 countries, offer an environment where crosscultural contact is practiced. Although IB seems to offer an easy entry to the foreign universities, not all parents look to target foreign universities when they put their kids in an IB school. “I don’t intend to
Bincy Thomas, a career counsellor with over 15 years of experience, points out, “Studying in an IB school doesn’t guarantee admission in a good overseas university. Good universities in the US give admission on the basis of SAT scores. IB diploma, therefore, doesn’t give you an edge over Indian boards. No matter what curriculum you have studied, you have to take the SAT test to enter a good US university. Also, for years, degrees from Indian boards— like CBSE, ICSE, and ISC— have been accepted by the foreign universities.” Moreover, the benefit of going to a CBSE-affiliated school is that it focuses on Science and Maths, as well as application-based subjects. “CBSE curriculum helps students to get admission in ‘heavy-traffic’ medical and engineering courses. We have innovative ways of teaching, even without a foreign affiliation. In fact the affiliation puts an additional burden on parents in terms of an exorbitant fee,” says Roopa Bhalla, Principal of Ajanta Public School. Further, coaching classes for CBSE boards are easily available, while hiring an IB tutor is an expensive affair.
The Old and The New
Noorjahan, a resident of Sushant Lok, has put her two kids in different schools, offering different boards. “My son is more into academics. So we put him into DPS. But for my daughter, who is more inclined towards the arts, Sriram is the best option. She can’t cope with the academic pressure at DPS. A school shouldn’t be chosen on the basis of a board it offers, but on the basis of the child’s personality,” feels Noorjahan, who is a teacher by profession. Besides curriculum, it is important to analyse what is the overall approach of a school. Noorjahan puts forth the example of one of the oldest schools in the City – Heritage School. “The curriculum offered by Heritage School is based on learning expeditions, that students engage in through the academic session. These expeditions are designed to promote critical thinking, skills, habits, and academic achievement. The School offers experiential learning during the primary years – and then transits to the CBSE board in the later stages,” she says. There is an education divide in the City. There are a range of schools that offer traditional classroom-style teaching, and then there are those which offer experience-based learning. Although the number of new-age schools, that label themselves as international, are increasing, it is important to keep into consideration your child’s interest and personality. u