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Friday, August 7, 2009

False Standards

Everything International!! That's what has become the norm of the day. Be it clothing, consumer products, automobiles etc....only one thing seems to be paying off, namely "Brand International". I see no offence though, with people owning such things though it may leave a bigger hole in one's pocket than desi goods. What's surprising and sad is to see people, especially the urbanized, totally blindfolded being in pursuit of "International". I had the chance to look at one of the International schools last month that has seen a meteoric rise in its admissions every year. The entrance looked truly international with fountains leading the way to the building. A single building, probably the size of a 4-storied apartment stood amidst a garden that seemed to encircle it. Nothing much to describe from now on, as it was a very normal building that had classes from pre-kg to 10th with classrooms distributed within the 4 floors. Roughly around 16 rooms were present, each accomodating at the maximum, 10 students!!


Nothing seemed international in there. The building was centrally air-conditioned and everyone were greeted with a welcome drink and breakfast. For a moment I thought myself to be in a resort on a holiday. Going around the school shook me further. Everystep I took around the school was not more than 10 steps away from the compound. Forget ground, I couldn't see a sand grain all around I guess. For a school that has "Allround Leadership" as its vision, this fortress within the compound promised nothing. Having tagged itself to be international, these schools should be far ahead of the remaining lot. They seem to unreachable only in the fee structure. This is not the only "International" school which lacks the basic facilities inspite of mammoth fees demanded. A handful of such schools seem to be present in every city. High donation in established schools is diverting the parents to such schools where the admission is easy.

Before shelling out huge sums of money anually one needs to think whether these institutions justify their worthiness for the fee they are demanding and the facilities provided. Donation, though improper, would be cheaper than what one pays as fees in the international schools. There are a few International schools that have good facilities, but nothing close to established Indian schools. I pity those children who spend their childhood in such closed compounds inspite of paying almost a 6-figured fee annually. If one wishes to see an all-round personality development in their ward, one needs to think before shelling out huge sums carelessly. Wake up parent!! Choose your child's future wisely.
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7 comments:

Arnav said...

Well written
I mean kids only learn when they fall, it is failures which are the biggest teachers in our life, and if we give such a protective environment, hows is the kid equipped to face the real world ??

We are so obsessed with the word "international " that we dnt look at our own origins.
Bhagwat Gita is the greatest management book I have ever read it teaches so many things , but we don't look at it that way..

The greatest irony is that today we have "non indian" people teaching YOga in India, no offense to them ,obviously they know it a lot, but the point is we are forgetting our own "treasures " ..



Keep Writing and Smiling ,
Arnav

Appooz' said...

good one mate.. n its not just restricted to the international schools, its the case with those n- number of "model" and "concept" schools. i think we were very lucky to get a good school, with whatever deficiencies it had. its not just the protective environment in these schools, its the mechanical life that the kids get used to so early in their lives that's gonna play with their lives in the longer run. and the almost complete absence of physical activity, most of these schools have no playgrounds, will definitely hinder their overal development. a lot of the childs development takes place at the playgrounds where they learn about team spirit, the power to adjust to different people and different situations. pity those poor souls...

PostMan said...

@Arnav
I agree with ur view that many are obsessed with the brand "international". And you have set a very good example by mentioning about Bhagavad Gita. Thanks for commenting!!

PostMan said...

@Appoos'
What's astonishing is where is all the money going??? Why are the schools lacking facilities even after gobbling huge sums. How can such aspects miss any human eye??
True. It's the same with "model" and "concept" schools. Foundation courses from class 4 and computer classes from class 1??? Lucky we escaped such trauma dude....the system has to become better and give the kids an independent, jolly and stress-free schooling

Appooz' said...

another fact that i came to know was that staff at many of these schools are under-paid, and they have added pressure from the management and the parents to offer "quality" education to their wards. wonder where the quality comes under such conditions.
n some recent schools are called "techno-schools", "IIT/IAS target schools", i wonder how many kids passing from these schools actually go to the IIT or become competent officers in the bureaucracy, leave alone crack the UPSC.
well one school which collect "six-pack" fees takes its students on excursion to thailand/malaysia/singapore.that does sound jolly, but that doesnt do enuf to relax the pressures..
and talking of change, its all about money dude, i guess these managements get enough money to bribe their way out of any cases that get lodged, or use it to intimidate the opponents.

laZy said...

der r schools vd gud ground n al.. bt al parents r goin 4 sth vch sounds INTERnational..de feel its lik a status symbol.. thou deir kids cant njoi dat..

so parents need 2 thnk..alwys de srch 4 an IIT tag r som brand ambasdr 4 d schhol r som big shot name..parents need 2 think is there any need 4 so much pressure in KGs itself 4 deir kids??

n schools also need 2 ve som minimum ethics.. thou its a busines.. schools r like factories of d gud bricks 4 a gr8 india as sm1 sed..

PostMan said...

@Appoos'
That's a very gud point that u have raised....i too have seen schools taking them abroad though they lack basic facilities. As far as i have seen it's only few students who fare well from these "techno/international/concept" schools. These are students who were born talented and no matter which school they were put in, they would have come out with flying colors.
All this is definitely a business, there are techno schools of institutions that basically were intermediate( or +1 and +2) colleges a few years back. They now seem to have offers for students who join their techno schools once they come to +1/+2. Further some institutions have stated that the child can be moulded (rather mauled in reality) better at +1/+2 levels in their institution if he/she also belongs to their own techno school!!
A simple solution is to educate the "highly educated" people to open their eyes and expect them to be practical