Over the recent year, schools in Mumbai with international curricula, has witnessed an increase in number of students opting for international curriculum rather than national curriculum under CBSE, ICSE and state board.
"There has been an increase, if not marked, in the number of students opting for international curriculum. There is an increase in aspiration among students and parents, who are of the notion than an education in the international curriculum will make it easier to go abroad to study or find jobs," said Dr Ranjini Krishnan, Principal of Billabong High School, Thane.
There are as many as 96 schools affiliated under the Cambridge International Examination and 41 International Baccalaureate (IB) schools in the state besides the Central government granting permission for setting up of over 1, 018 international schools across the country.
Why are students opting for international curricula over national?
- More students from the country intend to pursue higher education outside the country
- Better infrastructure provided by the international schools and practical oriented curriculum's are drawing more students
- High teacher-student interactivity in the classroom
- The holistic approach of International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) curriculum are more practical oriented and also provide advanced technical subjects like robotics
- Majority of parents are also willing to spent hefty amount for their children in order to provide them with international education quality
- International schools accommodate only a few students in one classroom to make sure every students are equally and effectively taught.
- An official at St. Anne's International School said, "The IGCSE curriculum has a holistic approach to education, oriented towards life, and not just book. Inclusive of subjects like robotics, or the teaching of an instrument from the first grade, it forms a connection between academics and the overall formation of the child."
"Cambridge students are confident that their qualifications will be understood and valued throughout their education and career, within India and internationally. We offer a coherent K-12 curriculum with clear progression at each stage and comprehensive teaching and learning resources. Our approach to syllabus design embeds the development of transferable skills within distinct subject contexts, reinforced by our cross-curricular Cambridge Global Perspectives programmes. All our programmes help develop deep content knowledge and the skills students need for success at school, at university and in employment. Our growth can also be attributed to the fact that we pay attention to the needs of our students. We have introduced a March exam series in India, in addition to the June and November series, to help our Cambridge International A Level students get their results in time for local university admission deadlines," said Ruchira Ghosh, Regional Director South Asia, Cambridge International Examinations.