At least seven more International Baccalaureate schools may soon start operations in the city
MUMBAI: Parents struggling to get their kids into International Baccalaureate (IB) schools will soon have more choice.
In the next 18 months, more than 50 IB schools will be set up across the country. The increasing demand for the IB programme has forced many educational institutes to approach the Geneva board for adopting the programme.
The IB programme, which started as an experimental in 2003 by a couple of schools in the city, has at present nine authorised schools that came up in four years in Mumbai. There are three more in the pipeline and four applications of intent.
The IB board’s Asia-Pacific region has witnessed a rise the number of applications in the last couple of years. More than half of the total 90 applications pending with the Asia-Pacific region are from India.
Farzana Dohadwala, the board’s representative for Asia-Pacific region, attributes the demand to change in the business dynamics of the country. “Several MNCs have foreign nationals coming here for jobs. NRIs are also returning to India as they see better opportunities here. They are looking for an educational board that is acceptable across the world. Also, Indian parents prefer to have their kids here and study global programmes rather than sending them abroad.”
In Pune, there are four authorised schools and four are awaiting authorisation. Many two-tiered cities have even sent their intent applications to the board for authorisation. Cities like Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Delhi, Coimbatore, Indore, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Baroda have joined the bandwagon.
Zill Botadkar, a parent from South Mumbai had been trying to get her child into an IB school in the western suburbs. However, due to the dearth of IB schools in the city, her son was unable to get admission into one. “With more IB schools in the city, my son will now have a choice,” said Botadkar.
r_yogita@dnaindia.net
