The Most Admired International School in South East Asia, 2023

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In the modern world, parents' first priority is giving their kids access to top-notch education. There was never a time when parents did nothing to support their children's education; they only sought to offer a foundational education to ensure their children's survival. However, parents today are far more advanced and desire the finest possible future for their children.

In order to pilot successive career, they quest for such schools which provide the holistic development of their students. Having said that, the industries are also looking such students who can perform multiple tasks and can lead their organizations towards innovative and creative successes, in their particular domain.

However, to keep up with the evolving and cutting-edge trends of the world, schools are also strengthening their educational standards and placing an emphasis on providing students with a quality education while leveraging new technologies.

In the past, parents often sent their children abroad for undergraduate or postgraduate study in order to offer kids with a technically advanced education, but today every nation is updating its educational curricula and giving students access to cutting-edge pedagogical chances.

Nevertheless, South-East Asian nations have distinguished themselves from other nations through leading the world in educational reform. Before, students from these nations would travel to other nations to pursue their academic interests. However, in order to compete in the extremely competitive globe, South-East Asian nations have now improved their institutions, schools, and have founded numerous international schools where they are giving their students a cutting-edge education.

In addition to placing special emphasis on Asian students, the institutions and schools also work with and invite students and schools from other nations, giving them valuable exposure to the local cultures and fostering socio-economic development.

These institutions provide a variety of cutting-edge, in-demand courses to cater to the needs of international students, helping them develop the knowledge and skills necessary to find solutions to the new issues facing the corporate world. Additionally, these colleges offer top-notch hostel amenities and infrastructure to international students so they may feel at home.

Additionally, we highlighted a few well-known international schools in South-East Asia during the search for The Most Admired International School in South East Asia, 2023 , and shared their backstories as well as detailed information about the schools, allowing you to learn useful information about the schools and their curricula.

Furthermore, you will study how international pedagogies contribute to the development of a developed country in The Knowledge Review magazine along with other significant school-related facts. So flip through the magazine pages to get the global answers to your educational problems.

Enjoy your reading and learn something new!

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2023

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IDRISSI International School

Laying the Foundation of Continuous Learning through Holistic Education

The success of IDRISSI School and all the schools in the GAINS ecosystem is highly fueled by the passion for filling the gaps and needs in dierent aspects of education.

Sailing across the great oceans, international education in Southeast Asian countries is picking up the pace for quality, multicultural-based, affordable education. Catching up with the advancements with a vision to make the world a global village, international schools in Malaysia are dictating the terms of quality and affordable education in the country.

While everyone is looking for options for international schools for the holistic growth of students, The Knowledge Review ventured out to find 'The Most Admired International School in South East Asia, 2023,' where we crossed paths with IDRISSI International School and its Founder , Puan Zaliza Alias.

While discussing educational pedagogies, technology, multiculturism, internationalism and globalisation, she expressed her vision of grooming the students to become able global citizens, saying, "As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child; hence, it will take a global village to educate children of different communities and backgrounds in the

world that are characterised as diverse."

So, without further ado, let's dive deep into the inspirational story of IDRISSI International School and how it is educating its students to achieve greater heights and establish a name for itself as one of the most admired international schools in the country.

A Genuine Desire to Educate!

Unlike any inception story of prominent education institutes worldwide, the story of IDRISSI International School is a little different and stands out of the crowd. While the seed of genesis was incepted by the loving founders who are parents themselves, and aspired to build a happy place for young minds to grow in a multicultural environment.

Emphasising the unique story of IDRISSI, the Executive Director of the school, Puan Zaliza Alias says, "It all started with our genuine desire to give children a different learning environment and let them no longer be confined to the four walls of classrooms. Just like that, IDRISSI International School has now become an eco-school with a five-star rating and a perfect balance of indoor and outdoor learning experiences."

What started as a small dream, IDRISSI International School, today, has grown into a balanced school that pioneered the interlink between Cambridge International curriculum with the eco, character building and value-based education.

A Resourceful and Effective Leader

The school is led by its founder, Puan Zaliza Alias who is also the Executive

This distinction in IDRISSI has put a new perspective into international education, as it extends far beyond the core curriculum.

The Most Admired International School in South East Asia, 2023

Director of GAINS Education Group who has a rich experience as an education consultant for various educational content on TV3, TV AlHijrah, Astro, and educational animation in Malaysia like Omar and Hana.

Highlighting her exceptional leadership qualities and her journey with the school, the school

management postulates, "Despite nabbing various awards through her first step with an English-based preschool with Islamic values; Genius Aulad, she was never one to be easily contained. Driven by the need to improve every facet of education, she set up IDRISSI International School. Her experience, resourcefulness and forward-thinking mindset in the education sector have made the school

sustain through the pandemic and expand to a wider market."

"However, the responsibility that leads the school towards its success does not lie solely on the shoulders of an individual, but it is on team effort which combines the strengths and dynamics of the team such as the teachers, students, parents and management as one family," the school management further added.

Puan Zaliza Alias Executive Director, IDRISSI International School

IDRISSI International School

is now an eco-school with a five-star rating and a perfect balance of indoor and outdoor learning experiences.

Embracing the Process of Life-Long Learning

The school has very well realised the fact that great leaders are shaped by great educators. This helps them to become lifelong learners, which is an essential factor in the growth of a leader. Expressing her view about this, Puan Zaliza Alias says, "In my opinion, good educators and great leaders are lifelong learners who are open to new ideas, research and educational practices. It is essential for one to inject the idea that learning does not end following one's age, trend or era. It is a life-long process. Just like how we need to refill ourselves daily with proper food to nourish our bodies, it is crucially important to embrace new knowledge and innovation to support the progress in classrooms and the workplace."

Extending Beyond the Core Curriculum

When curating the curriculum of the school, special attention was given to the atmosphere they wanted to groom the students. Understanding that this impacts the students' growth, Puan Zaliza Alias explains, "Having animal farms and herb gardens allow a representation and practical application of what was learned in the classroom into the outdoors and real life. The school, adhering to the Policy of Eco-Development Integration, has allowed the students and school to fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through deeper and more rewarding activities such as beach cleaning, conducting sustainable events, public speaking on how students of their age can make a change for a better environment and more."

School Vision

The school envisions empowering children and youth to be the change. Change in this context includes how one looks at things and attempts to shift something based on environmental awareness, global issues and world peace that are in line with universal human values and practices.

"This distinction in IDRISSI has put a new perspective into international education, as it extends far beyond the core curriculum," she further explains.

Aiming for Holistic and Overall Development

Holistic growth of the students, along with their overall development, is one of the major factors that the school aims for. The school conducts various events to allow the students to explore different sectors of student life.

Explaining how the school helps students in their overall development, Puan Zaliza Alias postulates, "In addition to academic skills, the school offers eco, outdoor trips that encompass the earth, taking care of it, making archery mandatory, coupled with Value Education Programme, Quranic, and Financial Literacy Programme (FLiP) that give students exposure to a well-rounded education. With an emphasis on students' advancement, this includes how the

An Educator's Advice

school encourages students to learn by doing and understanding instead of rote learning and memorising."

"On the other hand, the school believes that happy students learn better. Our curriculum is induced with a fun and happy learning environment so that the students will find love in what they are learning and believe in what they are pursuing. No matter how wellconstructed a curriculum is, it is the students' happiness that

From an educator's and a mother's perspective, venturing into education truly requires a relentless drive to help children get quality education and fill the gaps needed in the existing education system. With the shutdown of schools during the pandemic due to massive interruptions to in-person learning, new challenges arose. There was no one-size-fits-all solution when dealing with people, including teachers, students and parents. This has called for schools to reflect on what works and shift from what's not at such a rapid pace. Taking this lesson, it allows businesses in the education sector to build resilience for any unforeseen crisis and prepare a long-term plan to sustain.

-Puan Zaliza Alias

The school oers an eco-friendly environment for the students to enjoy learning and feel at home.

will keep them driven and engaged in achieving their learning goals at school," she further adds.

A Global School for Future Global Citizens

It is not an unknown fact that international schools with recognised international curricula help bring education all across the world on the same page. Talking about building the genesis of such a global society, Puan Zaliza Alias explains, "As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child; hence, it will take a global village to educate children of different communities and backgrounds in the world that are characterised as diverse."

"With so much of our life counting on how prepared we are for situations that face us, our role as an international school educator is to prepare children to be future-ready. A clear understanding of what a global village means will help them break through cultural, language and communication barriers. In that respect, they will gain tremendous opportunities to work with

different people, achieve bigger things and be better involved with larger communities regardless of age groups, cultures, ethnicities, races, religions, languages and skin colours," she further adds.

A Unique Eco-Friendly School

The school's infrastructure is situated in an eco-friendly environment to boost the oxygen levels in the atmosphere to better develop cognitive abilities and accelerate the growth of the students. Highlighting the facilities school offers to its students, Puan Zaliza Alias says, "The school offers an eco-friendly environment for the students to enjoy learning and feel at home. The facilities include airconditioned classrooms, a science lab, a computer lab, an art studio, libraries, a garden, a mini petting farm, a cafe, a basketball court, a futsal area and boarding (EduCity campus)."

Creating a Positive Impact on Society

Education institutes are considered trendsetters in the world and have immense power for the empowerment of society and IDRISSI International Schools being an emblem of empowerment, has contributed immensely to society since its inception.

Shedding some light on such impacts, the school management postulates, "Following the Cambridge International curriculum infused with eco and value-based education, our community, consisting of teachers, students, parents and staff has been actively involved in environmental

Core Values

The school adheres

firmly to the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) measure to ensure the school's performance is sustained throughout the years. The adherence to the three values has brought positive effects on students, educators and staff's development to a greater degree.

actions; including Sembang @WWF, beach cleaning, rhu planting and other social actions; including Pandemic Passage Art Exhibition for COVID-19 patients, charity bake sales for orphanage homes, education sharing with a refugee school and more."

Envisioning the Future

Laying the roadmap for the future and sharing some with us, Puan Zaliza Alias says, "IDRISSI School is part of the leading K-12 education ecosystem built by GAINS Education Group, which is also the holding company of Genius Aulad; the pioneer of Englishbased Islamic preschool in Malaysia of more than 20 years and Sekolah Tinta; a STEM school with the national syllabus. The success of IDRISSI School and all the schools in the GAINS ecosystem is highly fueled by the passion for filling the gaps and needs in different aspects of education."

"Over the years, IDRISSI School has managed to attract global investors through its implementation of life values education and academic excellence, and it is hoped to spawn a good network of local and international campuses after Johor and Qatar. Always on the lookout for the betterment in education, we are also ready to dive into providing cutting-edge ed-tech solutions to be incorporated in teaching and learning at all our schools," she further adds.

South East Asia's on

Impact of Globalization Education System

The long-term repercussions of

Tglobalization on Asian communities have risen to the centre of policy deliberations in the area as the effects of an unprecedented economic crisis continue to spread across Asia. Even in the years of Asia's economic growth, there was a spirited discussion among academics and regional leaders about how the outside world affected the area. Asian concerns about forces of globalization were at least partially expressed in the debate that arose in the early 1990s about perceived distinctions between Asian and Western 'values.'

The financial crisis in Asia has given this debate a fuel stabilizer. Now, prominent, mainstream Asian thinkers from India to Malaysia to Japan are warning that globalization may pose a

risk to regional economic stability and cohesion. The common assumption among commentators in the West has been that the crisis will result in disenchantment with supposedly Asian methods of economic and political administration and further 'convergence' with western norms.

Others are coming to a different conclusion, namely that adhering to Western methods makes Asian societies more vulnerable to the evils of global capitalism and more exposed to forces that undermine enduring cultural and social norms, despite the fact that there is evidence that some Asian countries have moved in this direction. The result of this discussion will significantly affect the security situation in the region.

The Asia-Pacific Center gathered a group of esteemed government leaders and academics for three days of intensive conversations to explore Asian perspectives on globalization and to look at how the phenomenon is changing the region's security situation. The discussion helped to clarify ideas about how ties in the region may or may not change in the next years, despite the fact that thinking about the effects of globalization is still very much in its infancy.

Security in the Region and Globalization

The impacts of globalization on the security landscape in Asia are diverse. Globalization may be altering interactions between nations in addition to the political and economic conditions within individual states. This effect is not always detrimental. Several participants claimed that the forces of globalization have in some ways increased stability in the area.

Deeper economic integration and the formation of regional 'growth triangles,' like the Johor-RiauSingapore triangle in Southeast Asia, have decreased the likelihood of war; the extraordinary interdependence brought on by globalization incentivizes states to work together. In fact, the 'absence of war' in Southeast Asia in recent years must be attributed, at least in part, to the forces of globalization, according to an Indonesian researcher.

Globalization has had some negative effects on the regional security situation, though. Other conventional security problems in the region seem resistant to the effects of globalization; in fact, globalization may even serve to exacerbate long-standing conflicts.

Globalization may reduce the likelihood of war in some parts of the region. The effects of globalization are also creating new difficulties that will put regional governments' capacity for co-operation to the test. Participants associated a number of worries with globalization, including:

New consequences : Several participants connected the impact of globalization to the emergence of new 'transnational' problems. Numerous of these issues are long-term dangers that generally do not fall under the purview of foreign policy. These threats' transnational nature presents a conundrum for Asian nations as well. A significant challenge for the region in the coming century will be building institutional ability to address these issues, both domestically and internationally. Among these fresh dangers are:

Ÿ Climate impact and energy - The importance of sea lanes and transportation routes has increased as a result of Asia's rapid economic growth and region's rising reliance on energy imports. Energy use in the area has also increased, which has worsened environmental damage that numerous participants connected to social instability.

Ÿ Water and Food securityPressure on food and water supplies has intensified due to the growing issue of environmental degradation and the region's expanding population. Water availability was mentioned by numerous participants as a possible source of conflict in the future, despite the fact that advancements in agricultural technology appear to be likely to ameliorate difficulties with food security.

Ÿ Diaspora - International migration has dramatically increased as a result of factors including the quickly expanding populations in many of the developing world, porous national boundaries, and differences in the rates of economic growth. Southeast Asia is already experiencing tensions related to migration; during the financial crisis, Malaysia sent out troops and navy vessels to control the flow of Indonesian migrants.

Ÿ Threats from organized crime and other 'non-state' entities. Organized crime networks, terrorists, traffickers in illegal goods like narcotics and weapons, and even human smugglers are less constrained in their operations as a result of easier access to communication and transportation channels and the increased permeability of state boundaries. Some participants speculated that these risks could end up being among the most dangerous in the twenty-first century.

Conclusion

Asia must stop trashing the west for its part in promoting globalization, and vice versa. The discussion quickly turned to the fact that western nations have also been affected by globalization, and that addressing its problems will take up a significant portion of the policy agendas in Washington, London, Paris, and Bonn well into the twenty-first century. The persistence of Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan's particular style of populist isolationism, as well as the concerns raised by the Y2K bug among millennial, show that worry about globalization affects even Americans.