Decoding the boards

With the admission season set to kick in, parents are now trying to hunt for the 'perfect school' and trying to decide the right board for their children. With newer boards and curriculum gaining more significance in the entire school education system of the country, parents are often confused about what board to opt for their children.

In a run-up to the admission season, DNA attempts to decode two leading boards in the country at the moment- the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and the International Baccalaureate (IB). We spoke to some of the top schools across these boards in Mumbai to try and understand the advantages and challenges of both. We also asked schools to tell us what stands out in their own institutions to give parents a fair idea of what some of the top city schools offer before they make the right choice for their children.

INTERNATIONAL CURRICULUM

1. Mount Litera School International (MLSI)

Why IB?

"The IB is a progressive blend of international curriculum and local intelligence- the IB provides a frame work where rote learning and memorization are replaced by skill development and critical thinking skills, motivating students to become life-long learners. It does this by shifting the focus away from exam preparation to making all learning experiences relevant and challenging, encouraging students to solve real life problems. IB emphasizes on skills that prepare students for a wide spectrum of career choices through its key pillars- collaborative learning,organization skills, research and effective communication. Students who have studied in an IB school are exposed to a range of opportunities to become familiar with local and global concerns, interacting with students like themselves and developing attitudes and attributes like empathy, compassion, tolerance and open-mindedness-all hallmarks of a global citizen" said Navyata Goenka, Advisor MLSI.

Why Mount Litera School International?

"Our school has recently been awarded the authorization by the IBO that recognises our Middle Years Program (MYP) making us the only MYP authorised IB school in the BKC area. Having previously received the Primary Years Program (PYP) authorisation, we are on course to become a complete IB school. School for us is a community consisting of three key stakeholders - students, teachers and parents; and our endeavour is to create a synergy between them to achieve a transparent learning process. It is not just the bells and whistles of a state-of-the-art infrastructure that makes an IB school; because although we provide our students with that as well, it is more important to us that we follow the correct pedagogy and inculcate a system of international mindedness in our teaching process to give our students the ideal physical and intellectual resources. From a Lego room to a squash court, Apple powered labs and state-of-art recreation rooms to well-stocked libraries, we lay out our best for the development of the students. Our curriculum offers an extensive range of extra-curricular activities to further complement children's learning experiences in school. We are proficient providers of learning in an environment that expects the best from our students, and what they learn with us helps them deliver on that expectation " added Goenka.

2. École Mondiale World School

Why IB?

"The explicit mission of the IB is "to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect." In the IB programmes students are asked to explore learning in an inquiry based framework, to become critically thinking independent learners and be great communicators. They are given the skills to deal with growing banks of knowledge and take that knowledge, evaluate it and be problem solvers. Additionally, through the 'action' aspect of the three programmes students learn to apply their knowledge for the benefit of others. In service to the community students learn about the needs of others gain empathy for others and take that a step further to action on behalf of and in collaboration with others" said Diane Lewthwaite, Head of the school.

Why Ecole Mondiale World School?

"As the pioneering IB World School in India, École Mondiale World School offers the continuum of the three popular IB programmes and believes in the education of the whole person. Students are asked to explore learning in an inquiry based curriculum opening their minds not just to knowledge but also to be problem solvers. They are asked to open their hearts by understanding that they have a responsibility to make the world a better place and thus work closely with a number of Mumbai based NGOs. To guide our students Ecole Mondiale has highly experienced IB programme teachers who also bring an international perspective to teaching and learning. Students and teachers work together as a team to support learning and this partnership is enhanced by supportive parent involvement. Additionally, as internationally minded individuals, Ecole Mondiale graduates are highly sought after by the top universities around the world. Students in past years have been accepted at many of the world's best universities such as Stanford, U Penn, Princeton, NYU, Columbia University, University of Melbourne, National University of Singapore, London School of Economics. The over 700 alumni proudly represent Ecole in their respective fields at both university and beyond" added Lewthwaite.

THE ICSE BOARD

3. St Mary's ICSE

Why ICSE?

"The ICSE is a well established board which began as a small unit as an option to the state board but has now become big and gained a lot of prominence. The ICSE board has a very good examination system which is far more advanced and efficient than the state board. Evaluation of papers for instance happens across the country thus avoiding the chance of any malpractices. The board is excellent for its new teaching learning practices which it imparts at a reasonable cost as compared to some of the International schools which charge huge amounts that not all parents can afford" said school principal Dr Francis Swamy.

Why St Mary's ICSE School?

"The 153 year school is the oldest ICSE school in the city. We are a Jesuit run institute and follow discipline and principals of the same. Our student teacher ratio is excellent and so is the infrastructure. We have ensured that students are exposed to the latest learning technologies and have subscribed to several e-resources and programmes. Our teachers are well trained and efficient in their work.We have tried to maintain our learning standards over the years by providing new age, quality teaching to our students" added Swamy.

4. Campion School

Why ICSE?

"The ICSE board gives an edge over the state board at various levels. The philosophy of the board which comes from the Cambridge curriculum is to give freedom to students. The ICSE curriculum is designed in such a manner that students have the freedom to study what they like and explore what they want to explore. Research is an extremely important part of the whole learning process in the board. The curriculum and the teaching pedagogy is kept quite open and teachers can facilitate excellent learning without having to enforce anything on students" said Paul Machado, Principal, Campion school.

Why Campion School?

Machado said "Ours is one of the oldest ICSE schools in the city. Having a 75 year old heritage, ours is a school where students want to come to every single day. Our parents always tell us that their children are always excited to go to school due to the kind of learning and the environment that we provide them with. Our school does not merely focus on a child's academic growth and development but believes in one's all-round development. For us, extracurricular activities are as important as studies and we encourage students to pursue their talents in the school. While we do have the state of the art technology, we also use it in the right manner with the help of our trained teachers who also focus on the emotional aspect of a child which is the most important component of the whole process. Our school is now trying to graduate to class XI and XII and we are all working in that direction".

EXPERT COMMENT

"Parents should look at the school rather than looking at the curriculum first while seeking admission for their children. Today both the IB and the ICSE are doing extremely well with respect to their teaching methods. While the IB has already established a wonderful learning framework, ICSE is also catching up very fast. As an educationist however, I would like to tell parents that they should first look at the school and the values that it follows before making the right choice" said Francis Joseph, Co-founder, School Leaders Network.

"Parents should make it a point to speak to existing parents to understand the real standing of a school. They are the best guides for them to make the right decision. They should ensure that they meet the school principal and see the school space themselves. IB schools to a very large extent have the practice of introducing prospective parents to the school environment and the people involved- including the teachers and the principals. Some ICSE schools are also trying to do that. Children should be able to see the school before parents make any decision for them. While looking at the school, a good learning environment, a decent student teacher ratio and teaching practices should be analysed carefully. The right school is not just the one with swanky infrastructure. It needs to have the balance of both the right structure and its efficient implementation" he added.