As an aspiring India looks to contribute in every aspect of the global economy and society, we are confronted with a pertinent question that begs an urgent answer. How do we prepare our children to meet these aspirations? It has been becoming abundantly clear over the last few decades that our current education system is woefully inadequate to do this job.

An institution needs to be created that could deliver quality learning. These attributes also form the bedrock upon which they can build a higher education and career suited to their talents and dispositions. Clearly, we need alternate models of education.

While some progressive boards like the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) are bringing about multiple, much needed reforms, the pace of these reforms will have to be slow because of the incredible diversity of schools they need to manage.

By incorporating the International Baccalaureate(IB) Diploma Programme (DP) and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) curricula into their pedagogy, international schools are offering Indian children an opportunity to join the larger student global community as equals.

When IB was first adopted in India in 1976, there were very few takers but we have seen a 10-fold increase in the last 15 years. Now we have over 700 schools across the country offering an international programme at one or the other level.

International schools are rapidly gaining popularity due to the diversity they offer in their curriculum and are substituting the national boards in preference with good reason. Education is no longer limited to any nation in this digital age as the corporate world, where the students will ultimately land, has already eradicated all international boundaries.

Education, as we knew it, is about to take a giant leap and we need to hold steadfast to encounter new frontiers of learning. Its Universal now.
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