As part of Cambridge University, United Kingdom, the Cambridge University Press and Assessment has been working with hundreds of international schools, over 3,500 CBSE, State board and CBSE schools, and local governments to raise the level of rigour in India’s education system, improving teacher quality, and fostering pedagogical innovation through their professional development programmes.
Rod Smith, Group Managing Director of International Education at Cambridge University Press and Assessment, told The Hindu about the rising demand for international curriculum in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in India, importance of teachers familiar with international curriculum among other things.
Excerpts from the interview
What are the key differences between schools in Tier-1 cities, and those in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities?
40% of Cambridge schools in India are now in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. We are seeing a lot of growth and demand from there. The aspirations and skills of students are similar, but those in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities have not been exposed to the international approach. The key difference is the availability of teachers who can deliver the international curriculum. This challenge exists across India. How do you help these teachers grow, how do you build that competence, that is the biggest challenge right now, even for the National Education Policy (NEP).
What drives Indian students to choose international curriculum?
International curriculum is very equipped to help students study and work abroad. It is more like an idea of a healthy ecosystem of options. What we are also seeing is an increasing number of parents focusing on high quality education. We (Cambridge) offer great international pathways with 2,200 universities across 90 countries, which recognise Cambridge qualification. For students who want to focus on non-traditional subjects, we are a good choice.
In India, there is now a shift from knowledge-based curriculum to skill-based curriculum (especially post COVID-19). In the international curriculum, we have been doing it for a long time.
Which are the countries that students going abroad from India are preferring now? Is there a change in trend?
Historically, the great majority of students from India travelled to U.S. and U.K. A majority of them still go to those countries, and Canada and Australia. Interestingly, there is an emerging trend now of new regional destinations for international students. Some of it has to do with affordability, levels of education when it comes to non-traditional subjects, and mainly regions themselves really investing in their higher education, for which India is a case in point. Countries increasingly want to attract international students as they add enormous richness and diversity to higher education.
Many students from India are now going to Amsterdam (Netherlands), Germany, Scandinavian universities, and Asia-Pacific regions like Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. There will be more options for students going forward.
What are your thoughts on India’s NEP?
It is extremely helpful when there is a clear framework for the country of the kind of things it wants to achieve, or the kind of skills it wants to develop. We recognise its focus on student competency-based learning, focus on early years, and teacher’s development. The big thing in any national framework is how it is executed as the real challenge comes not in strategy, but strategic execution. How are you going to get NEP to work on a scale as big as India with incredible diversity of context and environment. How to train teachers, how to address parental expectations. The need to interpret the national policy and make it work locally on a State level is incredibly important.
Cambridge International Schools is now looking to enhance its footprints in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets in the coming years, empowering 1,000 schools and training more than 50,000 teachers in the next three years, which is expected to benefit around 5 lakh learners.
