Published on: October 21, 2024

Growth of International Schools in India

In the last two decades, International Schools in India have gone from being measured in handfuls to being a booming market (around 200 to more than 750 total), with some institutions even carving a name on many “Best-of” lists in a global context.

The immense role played by an educational institution in the lives and futures of our youth is represented in the choices being made to enrol students in International Schools, at great personal cost to some parents and students, both financial or otherwise - a decision worth interrogating.

One can contest the idea that the traditional view is that the primary cause for this increased prevalence is the desire of parents to position their children to study abroad. Instead, it can be attributed to the spreading transformation of education in India, and the ability for institutions following international curricula to facilitate collaboration, technological advancements, and exposure to global perspectives - far outstripping more locally driven institutions. [Millennium Post, 2024]

Challenges Faced by Schools

It goes without saying that student density, infrastructure demands, curriculum, and teacher quality are some of the many challenges schools face in adapting to the moment, a task made all the more difficult by competing goals of customisation in student-driven environments, heterogeneous communities, the needs of standardisation and consistency.

While some of these concerns are not unique to the field of education, the delicate balance of serving the needs of various student and parent bodies, national framework and requirements, and an ever evolving global scenario students must participate in, is a difficult one to achieve.

Accreditation and Pedagogical Advantages

The competitive edge that global environs demand out of accreditation and philosophical bodies like the IB also enables them to work with the cutting edge of modern pedagogy: to have well-organised standards and practices that International Schools then follow, focusing on the need for holistic education and balancing standardised examinations with progressive learning and assessments in students’ best interests.

Most participants in the sector agree that such institutions are more equipped to thread this particular needle than conventional schools, by a wide margin. This is visible in the fact that the number of Cambridge and IB affiliated schools has grown exponentially, and not just in the major urban centres one may expect - tier two cities are fertile ground for this expansion, with nearly two thirds of the threefold expansion occurring outside the metros, and projected to continue at the rate of a hundred odd schools annually in the near future. [The Hindu, 2024]

Benefits of International Education

International School students are thus given a leg up in terms of personal, social, and academic skills and have their emotional and well-being needs centred in the conversation - something that is only possible with these “outsourced” frameworks and the stringent student-facilitator and student-resources ratios maintained by such schools, and quite literally paid for by individuals.

Even there, the variety and diversity of the options available indicate that fees, in particular, are widely fluctuating, ranging from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹12 lakh, overlapping many CBSE and ICSE schools as well, and making the decision truly subjective. [Mint, 2024]

Conclusion: Is the Choice Worth It?

While there may be much scope for debate on whether this opt-out environment for quality education that favours individual choice and privilege is the best structure for us, given the civic role education plays in society, we can acknowledge that many are seeking to make this choice for themselves and their children.

Sources:
Verma, Mansi, and Devika Sengupta. “International Schools See Rapid Growth in Tier 2 & 3 Indian Cities | Mint.” mint. Hindustan Times, September 16, 2024.
https://www.livemint.com/education/news/international-schools-tier-2-3-indian-cities-ib- education-ministry-school-demand-11726486594542.html.
Bhattacharyya, Prathama. “What Draws Indian Parents to International Schools?” Millenniumpost.in. Millennium Post, May 29, 2024. https://www.millenniumpost.in/k- reers/what-draws-indian-parents-to-international-schools-565788.
T. R., Jahnavi. “‘With 70 Schools, Bengaluru Becoming a Hub for International Schools.’” The Hindu, Bangalore, August 1, 2024. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/with- 70-schools-bengaluru-becoming-a-hub-for-international-schools/article68469239.ece.

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