Admission season has been ongoing in most parts of the country and I’ve been getting a couple of calls and messages every week over the past couple months. They’re either to ask about the boys’ school in particular, or IB education in general. So I thought it would be of interest to many parents if I consolidated some nuggets of what I know into one place.
Adhyant and Nibhay have been studying in an IB school for a year and a half now. They joined in Pre Primary II and are currently in Grade 1. In February of this year, the evaluation of their schools PYP programme took place where I was one of the few parents invited to interact with the IB organisation evaluators. My experience from then helped me understand more about IB education.
Mission
The International Baccalaureate (IB) run by the Geneva based IB organisation is not merely an academic programme. It also focuses on personal development of everyone involved with the goal of encouraging active lifelong learning and community leadership.
No Fixed Syllabus
The IB provides a framework, not a prescribed syllabus. Each IB school forms their own curriculum based on the framework. The framework calls for a dynamic, interconnected and constantly evolving syllabus where students are encouraged to think independently.
Programmes Offered
There are 3 programmes for IB School education:
- PYP – Primary Years Programme – Nursery- Grade 5
- MYP – Middle Years Programme – Grades 6-10
- DP – Diploma Programme – Grades 11 & 12
Students in IB schools learn through lesson plans, projects and Unit of Inquiries, which are multidisciplinary 6-8 week in depth explorations of a concept. For example, the boys’ current Unit of Inquiry is on ‘How the World Works’, so within this they are learning about the composition of the Earth, space, the solar system, seasons, natural elements (science) and how this affects human beings and lifestyle (social science). They are also delving into how to read and estimate passage of time and patterns based on revolutions, rotations and seasonal changes (maths), as well as communicating their observations through different formats (language).
Learner Profiles
One of the missions of the IB is to inculcate ‘Learner Profiles’, where IB learners strive to be:
- Inquirers
- Open-minded
- Knowledgeable
- Caring
- Thinkers
- Risk-takers
- Communicators
- Balanced
- Principled
- Reflective
The IB framework is designed to inculcate these attributes.
Accreditation
In order to teach the IB Programmes, schools have to be authorised by the IB organisation. There are several international schools who may claim they teach IB but are not authorised. At the same time, a school may be accredited for one particular programme but not another. PYP, MYP and DP all require separate accreditation.The list of all accredited schools with respective programmes is available on the IB website
Evaluation
IB accreditation is not a one-time ticket. Each IB World school is evaluated by the IB organisation every 4-5 years to make sure they continue to meet all standards and practices. Only then can they retain their authorisation. Parameters like curriculum – academic and non-academic, teachers training, infrastructure, inculcation of learner profiles, parents interaction and many other factors are looked at. The evaluation also includes a self-study by the school.
Assessment
It is a misconception that IB schools have no formal assessments for students. At the conclusion of MYP and DP students do have examinations and assessments that are created and administered by the organisation. All other students also have regular assessments in the form of written tests, projects, presentations, verbal tests and other forms of testing as designed by each school. IB assessments focus on both the knowledge and skills that the student will carry forward.
Fees
In India, most IB World Schools are comparatively expensive but not necessarily all. There is a wide range between the fees of different IB schools. The high fee structure is normally because of the expenditure undertaken by the school with respect to infrastructure and continual teachers training (through regular IB workshops) to maintain IB standards and practices.
Future Prospects
Another myth related to IB education is that students who graduate from the IBDP (equivalent of +2) will not be recognised by Indian universities and must go out of India to pursue higher education. IB is recognised by the Association of Indian Universities and the number of colleges and universities in India that accept IB students is continuously increasing. There are many IB students who go on to pursue undergraduate education in India.
I hope I have been able to clear some of your doubts regarding IB education in India. Do let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to help you find the answer to them.
Our own reasons for opting for IB education for our boys was that we felt the philosophy matched our own expectations. We were looking for practical oriented education where the focus was on understanding rather than memorizing, and where personality development was just as important as academic pursuit. Not only did the IB offer the right blend for us but the school we opted for also met all our other criteria when it came to safety, budget, atmosphere and attitude of teachers and management.