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Indian expats prefer international schools
DUBAI - The academic year will see many Indian expats turning to international schools for their children.
- PUBLISHED: Sun 19 Aug 2007, 8:43 AM UPDATED: Tue 20 Jun 2023, 2:29 PM
Several have already sought admission to these institutions to move their children from Indian curriculum schools.
While parents reason that the Indian system provides internationally-relevant education, they believe opting for an international school helps in the holistic development of their kids.
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The International Baccalaureate (IB) and the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) board are high on parents' preference list because, according to them, it helps prepare for higher classes and in some cases, for higher education overseas.
For instance, Sanjai Rao shifted her son to an international school saying it is more suitable for her son's way of learning.
“I shifted my son from Delhi Private School to Dubai International Academy this year because he likes to research topics, experiment and rely on application-based learning. The Indian system as such allows little freedom to do that because of the enormity of the syllabus. The international system, we feel, helps in preparation for higher classes,” she says.
Jaya Bhatnagar's son also moved to an international school this year after his first term at Dubai Modern High School. “We felt that IB teaching is more practical oriented and thorough. Besides, they also equip the child with learning mechanisms. Now for the past two years, both IB and IGCSE curricula are being accepted in Delhi and Mumbai universities, thus opening the 'going home' avenue to kids,” Bhatnagar reasons. She adds that one of the primary factors for their decision was also that her son got his desired combination of subjects at the international school
Arthi Krishna Kumar, whose two sons moved to the International School of Choueifat, Dubai, from an Indian school recently, says that the Indian syllabus is synonymous with tuitions.
She says that with plans chalked for a higher education in the US, the international curriculum would prepare them adequately.
Also, she reasons that a multicultural mix of students would gear her sons to move with people from different communities in the future. “The all round development of kids is significantly higher in this atmosphere, unlike in Indian schools,” she adds.
The Winchester School, Dubai, has seen a significant increase in Indian students seeking admission this year.
“Of the 405 new entrants, more than a hundred of them are Indians who have been enrolled in our school so far for the next academic year,” says principal Raminder Vig. He points out there are several reasons for the shift in mindsets apart from the rote learning. “Many parents want British qualifications for their kids and some Indian qualifications may not be accepted in the UK,” he says stressing that this doesn't imply that the Indian curriculum is not succeeding.
“People perceive that IGCSE or IB is better and look at it as an investment,” he says.
Vig concedes that the increasing number is also an indicator of growing affluence among Indian parents.
Principal of Al-Mizhar American Academy for Girls, Delice Scotto, also observes that it is the presence of diversity in international schools that attracts Indian parents. “ I think they tend to recognise that society is multi-cultural and that by putting their kids in an international environment, helps adequately prepare them for their future,” she says.
The school has also seen a significant increase in Indian students since its inception three years ago.
