Mumbai: Schools affiliated with international boards are gaining popularity in India's second- and third-generation cities as ambitious second- and third-generation entrepreneurs and professionals with higher disposable incomes send their children to these schools.
These schools, whose tuition fees are more than ₹7-9 lakh per year, now offer specially trained teachers – some brought from abroad – and an infrastructure on par with their counterparts in the metropolitan areas.
Cities that have become popular for these types of schools include Coimbatore, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Pune, Amaravati, Bhopal and Surat.
“Most of the students are from Coimbatore and our fees for junior classes are ₹2-3 lakh in tuition fees. We train our teachers in various international boards, but retention is a challenge in both metros and smaller towns,” said Meera Bhalla, principal of the Ruh Continuum K5 Campus in Coimbatore. The K12 school, which is part of the Shree Saraswathi Vidya Mandira (SSVM) Institutions, includes IB in its curricula.
Shrewsbury International School India, a co-educational boarding school in Bhopal, will start its first cohort of students from August 2025. ₹22 lakh per year including boarding expenses.
“The ratio of foreign teachers to Indian teachers is 80:20 and the kind of infrastructure and greenery that smaller towns offer is not there in cities,” said Abhishek Mohan Gupta, founder and president of the Board of Management of Shrewsbury International School India. The school has just started the admission process for classes 6-12.
Teachers' assortment
Teachers at international schools receive compensation that can range from ₹15-40 lakh, many of whom are being poached from metros to smaller towns. While there is no bonus, teachers get extra incentives if their student teams win competitions.
“International schools have been growing at a high CAGR of 40%, particularly in tier II and III cities,” said Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and head of the education and skill development practice for consulting firm KPMG, India. “The increased disposable income and aspirational value attached to education in these cities are the key drivers.”
The consulting and accounting firm has set up training institutes in the metropolitan areas that are part of its clientele. These institutes now want to offer courses in smaller cities that are in line with the international curriculum.
There are several types of educational boards operating in India, including state boards, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE). These are the most commonly followed by Indian schools so far.
But the country also has institutions affiliated with international boards that focus on the curriculum, such as the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), an English-language qualification comparable to the GCSE in the United Kingdom, and the International Baccalaureate (IB), a non-profit organization headquartered in Switzerland.
“There are a lot of third-generation entrepreneurs who are coming up in tier-2 cities. Many of them were educated outside India. When they come back to take over or set up a business, one of their biggest concerns is the kind of education they can provide to their children,” said Loluck Baby, senior director, academic excellence for South India at school edtech startup LEAD. The unicorn’s customers are large school groups that run schools affiliated with the state board, CBSE, and international curricula such as the IB.
The development comes after the Covid-19 pandemic has left many schools in the country in a state of financial instability. According to media reports, the Ministry of Education recorded closures of nearly 20,000 schools in India in 2021-22 due to Covid. The declining quality and stability of schools has prompted parents to look for better curriculum and infrastructure for their children.
The other reason for the popularity of these schools is the networking hub it creates from a young age. “This is also a relatively closed community, where only a certain segment of affluent individuals have access to these opportunities. The average cost is around ₹7 lakh, so only elite children go to school. The school becomes more than just a place for education, it is also a networking hub for the children,” Baby of LEAD told Coin.