Academic session in international schools has begun

Schools affiliated to boards such the Indian Certificate for Secondary Education (ICSE), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Cambridge board (IGCSE) have to face a new set of challenges to accommodate poor students.

Schools affiliated to boards such the Indian Certificate for Secondary Education (ICSE), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Cambridge board (IGCSE) have to face a new set of challenges to accommodate poor students.

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Most of these schools have already completed their admission procedure. At Gundecha Academy, an ICSE school in Kandivli, the pre-primary section has 180 students in four divisions. To accommodate 25% students from the economically weaker section, the school will have to make space for 45 students in the existing batch of 180 students.

“Our admission procedure began in October and seats were full by November. We can’t throw out students who have already got admissions in our school. I will not accommodate students from the weaker section this year,” said Seema Buch, principal, Gundecha Academy in Kandivli. Buch added that she had a meeting with the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) last month to tell; them that the school will have to keep 25% seats aside for students from weaker sections and that their children would not get admissions easily in schools. “Parents are unhappy with the idea but we can implement the clause only from next academic year,” Buch added.

International schools have another cause of concern. Their academic year is from September to August so they can’t accommodate students midway through the session. “There is no way we can implement the quota now, our session is in progress and the admissions for the next year were completed in November,” said Kavita Aggarwal, principal, DG Khetan International School in Malad. The school’s annual fee is Rs 1 lakh.

The Unaided Schools’ Forum said that they will not move court “A mechanism on how to enroll students from the weaker sections has to come from the state government. Until that happens, it is going to be a chaotic situation in all the schools,” said SC Kedia, honorary secretary of the Unaided Schools’ Forum.