In 1997 when the Mahindra United World College of India became the first exclusively plus two school to offer the IB diploma study programme, it created a minor sensation in haute bourgeois India. Since then 27 schools countrywide have signed up affiliation agreements with the International Baccalaureate Organization, Geneva, showing the growing popularity of the IB diploma. Kalpana Parikh reports 

For a steadily growing number of peer group students from high-income households around the world, it is the new scholastic status symbol. And given the power of the international demonstration effect in the newly emergent global marketplace, the higher secondary (classes XI-XII) school curriculum designed and marketed by the Geneva-based International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) — despite its stiff price tag ($ 4,000 or Rs. 1.8 lakh per child per year) — is finding an increasing number of takers in India. 

In 1997 when the Pune-based Mahindra United World College of India — a pricey (Rs.3-5 lakh per year) higher secondary school and a constituent of the globe-girdling United World College group of ten higher secondaries founded by alternative education pioneer Kurt Hahn — became the first exclusively Plus Two school to offer the IB diploma in India to its first batch of 100 Plus Two students from 58 countries around the world (including 32 Indian students), it created a minor sensation in the drawing rooms of haute bourgeois India, receiving widespread press coverage, including a cover story in this publication (EW October 2000).

Founded in 1968 by a group of European teachers specifically to address the educational needs of children of business and foreign service professionals in internationally transferable jobs, IBO is a not-for-profit organisation despite the high price tag of its diploma. Currently 1,598 schools in 121 countries with an aggregate enrollment of 200,000 plus children are affiliated with the IBO Council in Geneva. Although the council which employs education researchers around the world to design its syllabuses and curriculums offers PYP and MYP (primary years and middle years programme) curriculums, it’s most well-known study programme is the IB diploma designed for higher secondary students in the final two years of school before university. Only the latter has a set syllabus with PYP and MYP designed as frameworks to shape school pedagogies.

“Of all the descriptions applied to the IB the one I like best is ‘the programme that has the courage to leave the gaps’. Students cannot be expected to cover everything and providing the opportunity both for reflection and for digging really deeply into certain parts of their course is surely the sign of a good curriculum. These are both vital aspects of any critical examination as well as being an excellent preparation for university study,” says George Walker, the Geneva-based director general of IBO. Visiting professor of education at the University of Bath and former director of the International School of Geneva, Walker signed up with IBO in 1999.

According to Bombay-based Farzana Dohadwalla, the IBO Council’s South Asia regional representative since 1995, the differentiating characteristic of the IBO curriculum is that its process is as important as its content. The objective is to make learning a joyful, self-driven process for children so that they learn — and love to learn. “The IBO Council created a paradigm shift in school learning by training teachers to become friendly facilitators of students who are encouraged to learn by asking questions and reasoning. Under the IBO system each student has to learn to compete with herself. We don’t encourage head-on competition in classrooms, where the culture should ideally be cooperation and accomm-odation,” says Dohadwalla.

This new teaching philosophy has quite obviously struck a resonant chord within upper middle class households where there is greater empathy for children struggling through an arduous and often hostile school system. Despite the IBO Council — unlike other examination boards such as Cambridge International and Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) — not adver-tising the virtues of its curriculum (forbidden by its charter), the number of Indian students enrolling for the Plus Two IB diploma programme is growing by 25 percent per year. Currently 27 privately promoted schools across the country offer the IB diploma programme (see box).

IBO schools in India

A decade ago the Geneva-based International Baccalaureate Organization’s (IBO) diploma programme was an academic rarity offered by a minuscule number of upper bracket schools — Kodaikanal International School, Woodstock, Mahindra United World College, American School Bombay etc — catering to children of professional expatriates in India. Following the economic liberalisation initiative of 1991 and a boom in the promotion of upscale internationally benchmarked schools, the IB curriculum is finding a growing number of takers in upper middle class India. Currently 27 Indian schools have signed up affiliation agreements with the IBO and offer its primary years, middle years and diploma programme. They are:

Ahmedabad International School; American Embassy School, Delhi; American School, Bombay; Bangalore International School; Canadian International School, Bangalore; Chinmaya International Residential School, Coimbatore; Choithram International School, Indore; Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai; Ecole Mondiale World School, Mumbai; GD Goenka World School, Delhi; Good Shepherd International School, Ooty; Indus International School, Bangalore; International School of Hyderabad; Jamnabai Narsee School, Mumbai; Kodaikanal International School; Mahatma Gandhi International School, Ahmedabad; Mahindra United World College of India, Pune; Mercedes Benz International School, Pune; Oakridge International School, Hyderabad; Pathways World School, Delhi; Podar International School, Mumbai; Sela Qui World School, Dehra Dun; The British School, Delhi; The International School, Bangalore; The Sagar School, Alwar (Rajasthan); The Shri Ram School, Delhi.

The growing popularity of the IB diploma is attributed to the ready acceptance by experienced teachers and educationists of the reality that students need to learn continuously in a fast changing world where knowledge and technologies are rapidly obsolescing. Moreover, central to the curriculum is a unique compulsory subject christened ‘theory of knowledge’. This subject is a radical innovation inasmuch as it acquaints students with ways and means to create new knowledge.

Comments Helen Stanton, an alumna of Birmingham and Cambridge universities (UK) with 23 years of teaching experience in international schools in the Middle East, Africa, America and Central Asia who is currently the IB coordinator of the upscale Ecole Mondiale World School, (estb.2004) Bombay, where 82 students have enrolled for the Plus Two IB diploma: “The essence of the IB system is that it teaches students how to learn — to create new knowledge through wide ranging study, research and teacher-pupil and peer-to-peer interaction. These skills are very valuable in a globally competitive environment in which knowledge is obsolescing rapidly and continuous learning is necessary for survival.”

Adds Vasundhara Bhalla of the International School, Hyderabad promoted in 1972 by ICRISAT: “The objective of the designers of the IB curriculums is to develop students into life-long learners and global citizens equipped to reflect rationally and in a humane, compassionate manner. Consequently the curriculum is broad, balanced, rigorous, and constantly updated to facilitate acquisition of skills, versatility and breadth of knowledge required to succeed in today’s world.”

The special appeal of the IB syllabus, which is like a breath of oxygen within the moribund Indian school education system is that it is highly student centric. The primacy of the teacher within the classroom is diluted and substituted by an interactive, mutually beneficial teaching-learning process. “A teacher’s opinion or judgement is valued and respected. But students are encouraged to read, understand, evaluate and form their own opinions. For instance while studying the two great World Wars of the 20th century, students will investigate the causative factors and draw their own conclusions of the outcomes by examining differing source materials. Thereafter they will present their judgements and defend them in the classroom. Grades are awarded for the process of learning and reasoning rather than for the ‘right’ answer,” explains Manisha Malhotra an alumna of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and IB coordinator of Delhi’s showpiece Shri Ram School, where 40 class XI-XII students have signed up for the IB diploma programme.

Yet this conspicuously liberal curriculum which the growing number of IB-affiliated schools offer, comes at a stiff price. For one, in a country where the average teacher-pupil ratio is 1:63 and classrooms of 40-50 students are the norm, the maximum number of 20 students per class mandated by the IBO Council are a luxury, however pedagogically sound the reasoning behind the norm. Classroom numbers stipulated by the IB may have proved a hurdle if it weren’t for the fact that the genre of schools opting for IB affiliation have already mandated similar norms. Delhi’s Shri Ram School has limited the number per class to 25 students ever since its inception in 1988. Likewise in The International School, Hyderabad which offers the IB diploma programme to higher secondary students who clear the IGCSE class X exam of the University of Cambridge. A low teacher-pupil ratio of 1:10 is part of the school’s education philosophy as it allows for individual attention as well as the quality of student-teacher interaction required by the designers of the IB curriculums. But small numbers per class drive up tuition fees. Little wonder that annual tuition fee in The Shri Ram School is Rs.2.5 lakh. At The International School Bangalore (TISB) where the teacher-pupil ratio is 1:6.3, tuition fees range from Rs.3.5-4 lakh per year.

Moreover given the radical value premises of the IB curriculums, the IBO council mandates comprehensive teacher training and re-orientation, the cost of which in some cases is borne by the schools while in others passed onto parents, in addition to the affiliation fee ($2,200 or Rs.99,000).

Be that as it may, teachers of schools who have negotiated IB training programmes are unanimous in their praise of the teacher training workshops covering student-centric pedagogies and lesson plans which encourage them to become independent knowledge seekers. “The IBO Council’s teacher training programmes acquaint teachers with ways and means to stimulate students to become creative thinkers and problem solvers. The intensive training programme helps teachers develop new student assessment methodologies and more importantly, transforms them into motivational facilitators. During training classes, resources like websites, books, films and CDs are shared and activity planning and skills acquisition strategies discussed. Moreover the IBO Council’s online curriculum ensures that teachers connect with teachers of other IB schools and share resources and strategies with each other,” says Manisha Malhotra.

Uncrowded classrooms and intensive teacher training and re-orientation apart, another distinguishing feature of IBO affiliated schools is their strong emphasis on life skills and community service, which eliminates intensive inter-personal competition, a dominating characteristic of school education in contemporary India.

It’s the IB philosophy that “each child competes against herself and not against other children in the class”. This is believed to be a better prescription for continuous learning and group participation. Collaborative projects and discussion are actively encouraged classroom activities and cooperation and teamwork are regarded as appropriate life skills for workplaces beyond school gates.

Nevertheless given the liberal, very European conditionalities — small class sizes, intensive teacher training and muted inter-personal competition — some knowledgeable educationists dismiss the IB curriculums and pedagogies as hothouse plants unsuited to Indian conditions.

Dr. Anil Wilson, principal of Delhi’s prestigious St. Stephen’s College (estb. 1881) wonders whether IB students can compete for seats in India’s best colleges and institutions of higher learning. “How many IB diploma students make it into the IITs, IIMs and the best medical or engineering colleges? Very few, because their board exam doesn’t ready them for the highly competitive entrance exams of Indian institutions of higher education. These days there’s a lot of talk of ‘student friendly’ syllabuses and curriculums. But if they lack academic rigour, there’s a problem. The IB diploma is a very good liberal arts programme — we don’t get many IB students in the science stream — but their pedagogy and philosophy don’t quite meet the requirements of the Indian higher education system,” says Wilson.

This charge is hotly, even if obliquely, disputed by Hector MacDonald principal of the state-of-the-art The International School, Bangalore (TISB estb: 1999) which has an aggregate enrollment of 744 students from 16 countries, of whom 244 are following IB curriculums. “One has to understand that IB curriculums are designed to enable students to enter the best universities and to inculcate love of continuous learning in students. The transmission of values such as human dignity, open mindedness and cooperation, team work etc are the objectives of the IB system. Of course we want students to better their grades and scores but without resorting to raw, head-on competition with fellow students. We believe that such competition is inimical to self improvement and continuous learning,” says MacDonald, a former principal of the International School, Munich who signed up with TISB in 2000.

Given the wider liberal objectives of the IB system, even indigenous educationists are beginning to warm to its pedagogies and philosophy. “With growing demand for international certification, we carefully evaluated curriculums of the Cambridge International Examinations and IB. We opted for the latter because it offers a more holistic, experiential, broad-based education,” says Abha Adams, principal of Delhi’s Shri Ram School.

On the other hand, D.P.N. Prasad, principal of Mumbai’s highly rated Bombay Scottish School is convinced that the curriculum of the Delhi-based CISCE board is comparable. “I appreciate the philosophy of the IB curriculums. But I am perfectly satisfied with the CISCE curriculum which we follow. I recently visited Britain and had a good deal of interaction with educators there. They assured me that the capabilities of ICSE and ISC students are of world standard. Bombay Scottish School students are doing very well in British and American universities which is testimony to the international orientation of the CISCE board,” says Prasad.

Although for reasons of political correctness, promoters and principals of the multiplying number of ‘international’ schools in India insist that the IB diploma which is recognised by the Association of Indian Univer-sities and the Union HRD ministry as a Plus Two equivalent exam is an excellent study programme for entry into Indian universities as well, the plain truth is that it is designed to facilitate smooth entry into universities abroad — especially in Britain, Canada, Australia and the US. Indeed its conditionalities and fees structure are more in consonance with western education systems where varsity entrance pressures are not as intense as in India.

“The IB curriculum and pedagogy is holistic, application-oriented and project based; it tests the problem-solving capabilities rather than knowledge of students. As such it is dovetailed to the requirements of western, especially American universities. An IB diploma holder is likely to adapt easily to foreign universities and their curriculums. It’s hardly a secret that it is designed to smooth the passage into universities abroad,” says Vasanthi Vasudev founder-director of Osmosys Learning Products and Services, a Chennai-based education consultancy firm.

IBO facts file

Founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1968, the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) is a non-profit education foundation. Its original purpose was to facilitate the international mobility of students preparing for university, by providing schools with a curriculum and higher secondary diploma acceptable to universities around the world. Since then its mission has expanded. Now IBO’s new primary and middle years programmes make IB education available to students of all ages. And increasingly IBO’s curriculum — a reaction to traditional, memory-based curriculums — is being accepted by a growing number of schools worldwide. Currently 1,598 schools in 121 countries around the world are affiliated with the IBO Council.

Mission statement. The IBO Council defines its mission thus: “to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.” To this end IBO works with schools, governments and international organisations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

Structure. The director general of IBO and its headquarters are based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is governed by a 17-member Council of Foundation.

Research activities are based in Bath, United Kingdom and the council’s operations related to curriculum development, business and financial operations and publications are centred in Cardiff, UK.

Study programmes. The IBO offers three study programmes to its 1,598 member schools — The Diploma Programme for Plus Two or higher secondary students; The Middle Years Programme for students aged 11-16; The Primary Years Programme is for students aged three-12.

Assisted services. From its headquarters in Geneva, IBO provides affiliated schools detailed syllabuses and curriculum guidelines for each programme and subject area; teacher training workshops; online access to 3,000 education resources, subject area experts, and discussion sessions with teachers in IB schools around the world; external assessment of IB Diploma students’ work; and procedures for school-based (internal) assessment of student work

Funding. The IBO was funded by Unesco, the 20th Century Fund, and the Ford Foundation until 1976. In 1977 the Heads Standing Conference (HSC) of diploma programme schools was formed and they began to pay the IBO an annual registration fee. In countries where state schools offer the DP, governments make financial contributions. Contrary to popular perception that IB curriculums have been designed for upscale private schools, 43 percent of IBO affiliated schools are government owned.

In consideration for the registration fee, the IBO Council helps schools implement IB programmes, offers teacher-training workshops, teaching materials and manages a system of external examinations for IB diploma students. Thus currently IBO is funded by fees from member schools and additional income derived from workshops and catalogue sales.

University acceptance. The IB diploma is accepted by universities around the world, including the best in North America, the UK, continental Europe, and Australia. The Association of Indian Universities also recognises the IB diploma as a qualifying examination for undergraduate study in Indian varsities and colleges.

Affiliation procedure. To apply for IBO affiliation, school managements in India should contact IBO’s South Asia regional representative Farzana Dohadwalla (Mumbai). IBO representatives work closely with schools throughout the affiliation assessment and evaluation process. During the process of implementing an IB programme in provisionally accepted schools, the regional representatives advise schools on the materials they need and convene teacher-training workshops.

Affiliation fee. US$ 2,200 (Rs.99,000) per school.

The western orientation of the IB diploma programme in particular is also reflected in the timing of the final class XII school leaving exam. It is held in the month of May with marksheets out in July/ August which prepares students for the commencement of the academic year in Europe and the US. Comments Manju Nichani, principal of Mumbai’s K.C. College: “IB diploma students applying to Indian colleges suffer a disadvantage inasmuch as their results are declared too late for our academic year which begins in July. So they often lose out on college admissions in India.”

Farzana Dohadwalla, regional repres-entative for IB in South Asia offers a solution: “We suggest that students in India write the IB diploma exam of November for which results are declared in January. This leaves plenty of time to apply for admissions in India.”

Although it is fashionable to sneer at the usually pricey higher secondaries offering the IB, it is indisputable that they offer a valuable service. For the simple reason that with each passing year the number of Indian students heading west (79,000 in the US last year) for higher study is rising. For them the provision of the IB diploma programme enables easy access to the best colleges and universities abroad.

Moreover while the tuition fees payable by students signing up for the IB diploma is sky-high by Indian standards and causes considerable resentment, by western standards the fees charged by world class state-of-the-art international schools delivering IB curriculums in India are rock bottom. Therefore with a growing number of top-end Indian schools offering globally accepted school leaving certifications such as IB, IGCSE etc, there is a real prospect of attracting incremental numbers of foreign students into India’s private schools. Already there are an estimated 2,000 foreign students in India’s private schools and their rising number augurs well for international cooperation, trade and tourism.

However all is not well with India’s IB-affiliated schools. For one there is a severe and accentuating shortage of IB-trained teachers — and rampant poaching which is causing sleepless nights within the managements of capital-intensive 5-star schools offering IB study programmes. Given the high cost of IB teacher training (averaging Rs.25,000 per teacher) which drives up tuition fees, school managements are reluctant to deploy large batches for training. Moreover rampant poaching has prompted bitter wars among top-end schools and driven salaries sky-high. This has also prompted several IB-affiliated schools to import teachers from abroad and their dollar-denominated pay packages cause considerable resentment among indigenous teachers, often provoking charges of racial discrimination.

“We have always considered it important to hire and retain the best talent available globally and we take great care to provide an encouraging work environment and best pay packages to ensure our faculty can lead comfortable lives beyond their workplaces also. In the final analysis it is the quality of teachers that distingui-shes the best schools from the also-rans,” says Hector MacDonald of The International School, Bangalore, promoted at an estimated Rs.55 crore.

Almost a decade after the radically different, student-centric IB diploma programme was first introduced in the Mahindra United World College, Pune, and with a growing number of secondary and higher secondaries affiliating with the IBO Council in Geneva, the IB philosophy and pedagogy is striking firm roots within India’s languishing education system. Although the number of IB affiliated schools is small, there’s no doubt that its student-focused, problem-solving and continuous learning philosophy is premeating into the larger school education system. That is the already tangible contribution of the ‘elitist’ IB diploma to Indian education.

With Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai) & Srinidhi Raghavendra (Bangalore)

Also read: International Baccalaureate unveils 100th school in India