Ditching rote learning: India’s affluent parents send kids to international schools

NEW DELHI – Ms Neha Aggarwal, a homemaker in Panipat, an industrial hub in northern Indian state Haryana, faced a growing challenge as her 10-year-old son was gradually losing interest in his studies.

She decided the best solution was to move the sixth-grader from a local school to a boarding school offering either the International Baccalaureate (IB) or the Cambridge Assessment International Education, both globally recognised curricula.

“He is losing all interest in school and learning. He is just cramming,” she told The Straits Times during a trip to scout for schools in Gurgaon city, about 129km from her home in Panipat.

With limited options in her home town, she is considering schools that offer five-day boarding, which would allow her son to return home on weekends.

“I want to give him a new experience of life,” said Ms Aggarwal, whose husband is in the textile business.

Across India, a growing number of affluent parents are transferring children from traditional Indian schools – where the focus is on examinations – to international curricula.

Curricula such as the IB use a mix of internal assessments, projects and exams to assess students. In contrast, Indian curricula are largely exam-driven, with strong emphasis on core subjects and standardised testing format. Final exams, which include objective, short-answer and long-answer questions, carry significant weight, even though internal assessments and practicals have become increasingly important.

Although education is free in government schools, concerns over inconsistent infrastructure and quality of teaching have led many parents, including those who are less well-off, to choose private education.

India’s school system operates through multiple education boards. The National Education Policy (NEP) aims to shift the focus away from rote learning and examinations towards more skills-based and experiential learning.

“The boards are changing due to NEP, but there are still many gaps. It’s a very slow process, and training teachers to move away from the old system is slow,” said Ms Anita Paul, former principal of Amity Global School in Noida.

Experiential learning at a cost

Parents who choose international schools seek greater global mobility for their children and experiential learning with wider choices of extracurricular activities, including sports.

The trend, which is also spreading to parents living in non-metro cities, underscores rising aspirations even as questions remain over costs and whether children in international schools will be able to transition easily back into the Indian system if needed.

Schools offering international curricula often charge double that of Indian board schools, with fees costing 700,000 rupees (S$9,480) and upward annually.

But that has not stopped a segment of affluent parents. According to ISC Research, a non-profit global membership organisation for internationally minded schools, India had 972 international schools in January 2025, up from 884 in 2019. This is an increase of 10 per cent over the period. India is second only to China in the number of international schools.

“Across South Asia, there is a clear and sustained rise in interest in international education, with the number of schools offering such curricula now exceeding 1,000 across the region,” said Mr Vinay Sharma, senior vice-president and regional director of Cambridge International Education for South Asia.

“Today, parents are evaluating education through a wider lens. Beyond academic outcomes, there is increasing emphasis on skills such as critical thinking, communication and adaptability, along with access to diverse higher education pathways.”

Education experts said demand for international schools is growing due to greater disposable income, more foreign university campuses in India, preference for a more research or application-based syllabus, and a desire for less exam stress.

However, not all parents view international schools as the panacea in a country where academic rigour is instilled from a very young age and seen as the Indian way.

Many also believe that the current education system, even with all its flaws, may be the only viable pathway to prepare their children for higher education in a highly competitive system.

For example, admission into the Indian Institutes of Technology, the country’s top-tier institutes for engineering, technology and science, requires academic rigour and intensive entrance exam preparations that align more closely with the Indian board system.

Some of these issues continue to weigh on the mind of Ms Ritu Verma, a human resources consultant, whose 13-year-old daughter left an Indian board school to join an international one three years ago.

“I used to study like crazy. One thing I was clear about was that I didn’t want my child to do this. I wanted a more comprehensive development of the child and, secondly, the option to go anywhere if she pursues an international curriculum,” she said.

While she is happy with how her daughter is expanding her horizons and enjoying researching various topics, she worries about her options if she chooses to further her studies in India.

“I want her to have options in India,” she told ST.

Rising adoption of international curricula

But that is not holding back some parents, who are determined to give their children an education different from the one they had, and have the financial means to do so.

In Manesar, a town known as an automobile hub in Delhi, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth’s School, a 450-year-old grammar school, is preparing to open its 6.9ha campus in August.

The admission process for the foundation batch of students is under way. 

Ms Sonal Chatrath, founding head of prep school at the Queen Elizabeth’s School, Gurugram, was surprised by the Indian parents’ attitude. 

“My perception was always that parents in India are very much examination-focused, and it’s all about, you know, the maths and the English and the sciences. The parents that I’ve had conversations with, I think, have a broader outlook,” she said.

“I think parents want a consistent education, whether it is to continue in India or abroad. But I think a lot of them will probably go abroad.”

A few state governments are actively encouraging the adoption of international curricula amid an effort to align India with the global standards of education and tap growing opportunities for the Indian economy, where around half of the 1.4 billion population is under 25.

Southern state Andhra Pradesh plans to introduce the IB curriculum in one additional class each year in every state-run school, up to Class 10 by 2035. In the Indian system, class refers to a year level of schooling.

In Delhi, the Delhi Board of School Education partnered with IB in 2021 to implement programmes in 30 government schools.

“The IB’s presence in India has more than tripled in 15 years, reflecting India’s rising investment in education and its embrace of educational approaches that prepare students for an interconnected world,” said Mr Mahesh Balakrishnan, senior development manager of IB (India).

He noted that the expansion is not restricted to the metro cities.

“The IB is expanding access to high-quality, inquiry-based education throughout the country, including in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities like Madurai, Trichy and Udhampur.”

Experts believe that parents will only get more choices going forward, and the costs of studying in a school offering international curricula could come down. 

“The supply is growing; there are so many schools popping up. The demand will only grow,” said Ms Paul. 

For Ms Verma’s daughter Saranya, who is now in an international school in Gurugram, the change has been more than welcome.

“I see my friends (in local schools) only studying and studying and worrying about marks,” she said. “I’m glad I don’t have to sit a three-hour exam.”