International education may soon reach the common man

Anahita Mukherji I TNN

Mumbai: International boards are working overtime to ensure that they reach out to those who may not have the means to afford admission to an international school.

The International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO), a Geneva-based board that has gained popularity in India, has set up a committee called the Access and Advancement Committee, chaired by Dr Indu Shahani, sheriff of Mumbai and principal of HR College.

The committee aims to make IB education more accessible to the common man around the world. “This will involve adopting local schools in developing countries as well as schools in under-priveleged neighbourhoods in developed countries and helping them upgrade their standards,’’ said Shahani.

The Access Committee, headquartered in Singapore, has launched a programme called Believe in India. Both IB and non-IB schools have been asked to sign up for the programme.

IB school teachers will help train those from non-IB schools. In addition to training the staff, IB will also help sponsor the infrastructure at these non-IB schools. IB schools will also share their premises with NGOs and non-IB schools in addition to facilitating student interactions between both sets of schools.

The programme will kickstart in Hyderabad, where a number of local schools have been identified for the project. Another popular international board, the International General Certificate of Secondary Education, affiliated to the University of Cambridge, is already being offered by several schools in India at more affordable rates.

“While the cost of an IGCSE education in South Asia is much cheaper than it is in places like Europe, a number of IGCSE schools charge the same amount as schools affiliated to Indian boards,’’ said Ian Chambers, South Asia representative for Cambridge International Examinations.

IGCSE has also partnered with the Gujarat government to provide teacher training to around 400 state board teachers over the last three to four years, said Chambers. Such programmes are also offered at an individual level in several parts of the country.

“I welcome the move on the part of international boards to help local schools, as this will broaden the horizons of our teachers. They will get to experience a new and innovative pedagogy of education prevalent in other parts of the world,’’ says Arundhati Chavan, principal at a teacher training college in Kalyan, and president of the PTA United Forum.

INCLUSIVE PROJECT

The IBO, a Geneva-based board, has set up a committee chaired by Dr Indu Shahani, Mumbai sheriff and HR College principal, to make IB education more accessible

The Access Committee, headquartered in Singapore, has launched a programme called Believe in India. Both IB and non-IB schools have been asked to sign up for it

IB school teachers will help train those from non-IB schools. In addition to training the staff, IB will also help sponsor the infrastructure at these non-IB schools