Foreign boarding schools set to woo Indian students

India is arriving as a lucrative destination for American and European boarding schools. This is a shift from the past, wherein these schools were confined to South Asian nations like China. To pull students into these schools, The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), comprising 300 schools from North America, Canada and Europe, will begin conducting promotional activities in Mumbai.

The idea is to make Indian students ‘Harvard-ready’. Accordingly, representatives of around 292 such boarding schools will host workshops at a boarding schools’ fair to be held in November here. They hope to use these workshops to enhance the enrolment of Indian students into these schools from the current low of 2%. Another objective is to promote diversity amongst the student body and inculcate a holistic perspective among them.

“In the age of globalisation, education should be a platform for students from diverse cultural backgrounds to come together and learn to appreciate one another,” said Steve Banks, director operations, TABS.

The schools are using ‘college preparation’ as one of the major selling points. They claim that the instruction given in these schools will enable students to internalise the right attitude, analytical skills and discipline qualities that will easily make them accepted into universities abroad.

The association also hopes to break the stereotype that only rich children can afford these schools.

Meanwhile, the schools are using their ‘lush green campuses’ and ‘serene learning environment’ as the biggest hook. “Right at the first sight, I fell in love with the campus, when I had gone to visit a cousin in the US. The entire learning experience was different at the school. The faculty was readily available to take our call 24X7 and we got a truly global exposure,” said Shabnam Pancha, alumni of Northfield Mount Hermon School, Massachusetts.