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MUMBAI: Schools affiliated to international boards are becoming popular in tier II and III cities in India, as second and third generation aspiring businessmen and professionals with high disposable incomes are sending their children to these schools.
The tuition fees of these schools is more than Rs 1000. These institutes, with a revenue of Rs 7-9 lakh per annum, are now providing specially trained teachers (some brought from abroad) and infrastructure at par with metros.
Popular cities for these schools include Coimbatore, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Pune, Amravati, Bhopal and Surat.
“Most of the students come from Coimbatore and our fees for junior classes are Rs 2-3 lakh is spent as tuition fees. We train our teachers in various international boards, but retaining teachers is a challenge both in metros and smaller cities,” said Meera Bhalla, head of the school Rooh Continuum K5 Campus in Coimbatore. The K12 school, which is part of the Sri Saraswathi Vidya Mandir (SSVM) institutions, incorporates IB in its curriculum.
Shrewsbury International School India, a Bhopal-based co-educational boarding school, will start its first batch of students from August 2025. This will cost Rs 22 lakh per year including boarding fees.
Abhishek Mohan Gupta, founder and chairman of the management board of Shrewsbury International School India, said, “The ratio of foreign teachers to teachers from India is 80:20 and the kind of infrastructure and greenery available in smaller towns is not there in cities.” The school has just started its admission process for classes 6-12.
Category of teachers
The remuneration for teachers in international schools can range from These teachers, with salaries ranging from Rs 15-40 lakh, come from metros to smaller towns. Though there is no bonus, teachers get additional incentives if the student team wins the competition.
“International schools have grown at a high CAGR of 40%, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” said Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and head of education and skills development practice at consulting firm KPMG India. “Increased disposable income and aspirational values associated with education in these cities have been the key drivers.”
The consulting and auditing firm has established educational institutions in metro cities among its clients, who are now looking to offer courses under international board curriculum in smaller towns.
A variety of educational boards operate in India, including state boards, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), and the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), which is by far the most widely followed in Indian schools.
But the country also has institutions affiliated with international curriculum-based boards, such as the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), an English-language qualification similar to the GCSE in Britain, and the International Baccalaureate (IB), a non-profit organisation headquartered in Switzerland.
“There are many third-generation businessmen emerging in tier-2 cities. Many of them are educated outside India. When they return to take over or set up businesses, one of their main concerns is what kind of education they can provide to their children,” said Lolak Baby, senior director of academic excellence for South India at school edtech startup LEAD. Unicorn’s clients are large school groups that run schools affiliated to state boards, CBSE as well as international curriculums like IB.
This development comes after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed many schools in the country into a state of financial instability. According to media reports, the Ministry of Education has shut down around 20,000 schools in India in 2021-22 due to COVID. The deteriorating quality and stability of schools has left parents looking for better curriculum and infrastructure for their children.
Another reason for the popularity of these schools is that it creates networking hubs from an early age. “It is also a relatively closed community, where only a certain class of wealthy people can avail these opportunities. The average fees are around 7 lakhs, so only high-class kids come here. This school is not just becoming a place for education – it is also becoming a hub for networking for kids,” said Baby of LEAD Mint.
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