IB schools: High on mileage, low on stress

It may cost a packet, but to Vandana Kapadia, a resident of Prabhadevi, her child’s peace of mind was more precious. Having studied abroad, she had no second thoughts about enrolling her 13-year-old son, Krish, to standard VIII in the IB diploma programme at Podar International School at Santa Cruz.

In the last few years, schools have been falling over themselves to get a share of the International Baccalaureate pie, the newest buzzword in education. The Dhirubhai AMbani International School, started by Nita Ambani a few years ago began the IB trend in Mumbai and BD Somani International School at Cuffe Parade is the latest entrant, with 60 students this year.

Given its rating as a premium schooling brand and its global acceptance, the city’s elite are only too happy to join up, at whatever price. Though many veteran educators like principal M P Sharma of the G D Somani International School at Cuffe Parade still swear by the ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Examination) system which has grudgingly yielded the mantle of superiority to IB, parents like Kapadia have no qualms about their decision.

“I was educated abroad and it pained me to see how my child was suffering due to excessive stress,’’ says Kapadia, “When I got to know about the IB system, I promptly opted for it.’’

Instead of the rote learning that defines conventional Indian education, IB programmes are application-based; they give the students freedom to choose their subjects, decide their textbooks, and have a less structured method of training through brainstorming sessions and greater interaction with teachers. The infrastructure too is indulgent by comparison with air-conditioned classrooms, state-of-the-art laboratories, book-rich libraries, laptops, and computers.

Farzana Dohadwalla, IB representative for south Asia, says the IB curriculum aims at all-round development of a person. It lays stress on developing research skills, application and the analytical skills.

The old Indian system of  learning, of course, has had more than its fair share of triumphs as evidenced by the line-up of Indian scholars making it big abroad. While contending that the IB uses a different teaching methodology, principal MP Sharma of GD Somani School believes the ICSE system is the best. “It builds a learning discipline and going by the sheer volume and depth of knowledge that the students are exposed to, it fetches good results,’’ says an ICSE teacher who does not wish to be named.

While IB officials claim that some of these perks such as air-conditioning are not really necessary, school administrators talk of how they have to overreach themselves to meet the IB requirements. Given its higher pedigree, IB has fuelled some resentment.

In one school, for instance, IB teachers make Rs 40,000 per month whereas an ICSE teachers would take home about Rs 12,000-Rs 15,000 per month as starting salary. “It certainly creates some sense of discrimination, especially because there are not more than 18 to 20 students per class for an IB teacher,’’ says a school principal. “But what can you do if this is a prerequisite?’’ he says.

Indeed, the sheen and shine comes at a steep price tag. A single year’s higher secondary education in an IB school would be between Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh for tuition alone.

But for some parents, a discerning SWOT analysis leans decidedly in favour of the Australian system. The Dhirubhai Ambani International School for instance has in its short life has been top-ranked among global IB schools. There are other benefits as well. “Earlier, I used to incur huge costs enrolling my children into private coaching classes. Now my son doesn’t have to bother about private tuitions,” says Chhaya Momaya, makeover consultant, whose son studies at the Dhirubhai Ambani International School.

Headmaster of Mahindra United World College, Dr David Wilkinson, says, “Components such as the theory of knowledge course and the creativity-action-service component are designed to produce citizens who can think critically, write and articulate well and manage extremely demanding schedules.” 

An IB diploma holder can sit for the entrance exams for medical, engineering, arts and law degrees and other professional courses in India and abroad. It has to be pointed out though that American universities base their admissions solely on SAT scores.

However, a big hitch for those keen to pursue their studies in the country is that IB programmes wind up in July, when Indian college semesters are already under way. Not everybody thinks IB works wonders. Former chairperson of University Grants Commission, Armaity Desai, says, “I feel the IB schools are extremely elite. They have children from the same economic bracket. A mix of students is essential to make children sensitive to the realities of the world.’’

Desai said that as an educationist, she felt concerned if all the children in one school are representative of one strata of society.  Educationist Farida Lambay, whose son studies in an IB school, says, “I like the flexibility students have. But it is awfully expensive, though its exclusivity can be replicated by other systems as well.”

US system is not of a different class
H Vaishali

WASHINGTON: It’s not just in India. Even in the US, schools reflect the class divide in society. Public schools, funded by the federal, state and local governments together, are patronised mostly by the poor and the middle class, while private schools have students from the upper middle class and the elite.

Public schools are free for students, and since there is no uniform except in rare cases, there are no overheads either. Poorer kids even get free or subsidised meals. In some cases, students may have to bear expenses on notebooks and textbooks, but for poor students, even these can be available for free.

During the academic year 2005-06, the national average spending per pupil was $8,300 — that’s what the state, local and federal governments spent on each student.

Private schools are of various sorts. A few are affiliated to churches, and are usually attended by children whose parents don’t want them to go to public schools that call for separation of the church and state.

At some elite schools, like the Sidwell Friends Academy in Washington DC, parents shell out as much as $25,000 each year. That includes the expenses on lunch, textbooks, lab fees and athletic equipment. Children of some famous US Presidents, like Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill Clinton, have attended Sidwell.

Private schools offer a number of other benefits too — for instance, the Page Private School, which has several branches, including one in Beverly Hills and other parts of Los Angeles and Florida, offers amenities like chess club, ballet, etiquette, cooking, art, and piano classes.

Students can participate in theatre activities and be a member of a variety of sports clubs. Among the academic benefits is the one-on-one tutoring. 

It is generally considered that private schools prepare students better because of smaller class sizes and more personalised attention, Most public schools have 24 to 30 students, which is considered very high in the US.