Sibal clears Arjuns plan to monitor international schools

HRD Minister has cleared a plan,initiated by his predecessor to develop a regulatory framework for international schools in India.

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Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal has cleared a plan,initiated by his predecessor Arjun Singh in 2008,to develop a regulatory framework for international schools in India.

The proposal is aimed at bringing some kind of a framework to register and if necessary regulate the mushrooming of several so-called International schools. The move will inevitably also add a bureaucratic layer to the process of affiliation to international boards like Cambridge IGCSE.

The plan,snubbed by the PMO twice during Arjun Singhs tenure,has finally got moving with a Committee of Secretaries now set to examine it.

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The proposal seeks to put a cap on the number of foreign teachers in international schools,ensure that the schools define and adhere to certain standards in keeping with their international status and ensure that the curriculum offered upholds secular values.

That apart,the plan suggests every school seeking affiliation to an international board should first route its application to the HRD Ministry which will constitute a Standing Committee,comprising outside experts,concerned state governments representatives,CBSE authorities and HRD representatives,to vet the applicant.

While the HRD Ministrys first attempt to take the proposal to Cabinet was met with a PMO spanner that referred the issue to the Planning Commission,the second time,the PMO asked the ministry to take the proposal to a CoS.

The PMO was not particularly keen on regulating international schools as it felt that the number of such schools was far too less and this plan may seem like an exercise targeted at them. The ministry,on the other hand,argued that there were no statistics available on these international schools,hence there was a need for such a framework.

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Incidentally,the last few years have seen a major surge in the number of schools affiliated to international boards. For instance,the number of schools affiliated to International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) grew from 2 in 1998 to 33 in 2006 while the number of schools affiliated to Cambridge International Examination (CIE) rose to 148 the same year.

The HRD Ministry,however,insists that it is not these reputed Boards that will be targeted through the proposed regulation but the schools that brandish the term international to attract students and yet offer nothing above the ordinary.

The ministry also argues that there may be a third not-so-reputed international school board that may come to the country and so there is a case for a regulatory framework.

Incidentally,the CBSE itself had launched earlier this month an international board affiliating 25 schools in the Middle-East.