International schools

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Bangalore

High

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By:charge far more for a year than professional courses, but parents say the experience is worth every paisaMagnificent buildings painted pristine white and immaculately-manicured lawns and gardens dot Indus International School’s sprawling 40-acre campus on Sarjapur Road. “Creating leaders of tomorrow” is the school’s mission and across the crest are inscribed the words ‘In Omnia Paratus’ – prepared for all challenges. Worthy ideals, but it is an expensive business.The fee for a year — Std I for instance — in I-schools (international schools) across the city is far more expensive than a year in B-school or even an MBBS course. November is usually the time when parents begin scouting for a prospective school for their children, and while I-schools are most sought after, aconducted byMirror showed that the fee structure for Std I was higher than a year at a top management school.Indus International for instance charges an annual fee of Rs 4.4 lakh. That is exclusive of transport (which costs Rs 50,000), refundable security deposit (Rs 50,000), admission fee (Rs 1 lakh) and registration fee (Rs 7,500). All included, it makes a hefty packet of Rs 6.47 lakh per annum.Other I-schools are not far behind: A management official of The International School, Bangalore (TISB) near Dommasandra Circle revealed the fee is approximately Rs 6 lakh per annum. The Oakridge International School, Varthur Road, charges around Rs 2.4 lakh per annum.National Public School charges around Rs 90,000, but an official said the fee is likely to be hiked by 10 per cent from the next academic year starting in June. Greenwood, another international school, charges around Rs 80,000 per year, a conservative sum compared to Vidyashilp Academy (Rs 1.6 lakh per year), Mallya Aditi International School (Rs 1.87 lakh), Inventure Academy (Rs 2.75 lakh) and Canadian International School (Rs 3 lakh).In contrast, the fee for an engineering course is between Rs 38,000 to Rs 41,000 (through CET) per year, while a medical seat costs about Rs 42,000 per year and a dental seat Rs 35,000 annually. Among professional courses, an MBA, perhaps due to higher demand, costs much more — Rs 1.5 lakh per year.And yet, I-schools don’t suffer from a lack of demand. School managements and parents say the experience is worth every paisa. I-schools justify the fee, saying they offer a host of features which other schools don’t. Moreover, the fee is all-inclusive and covers tuition, transport, food and everything else over three terms.For transport for instance, there are three slabs depending on distance . An official of Greenwood High said, “We have a fleet of over 90 air-conditioned (AC) vehicles of our own. Special care is taken while appointing drivers. The buses are equipped with safety equipment and first-aid kits. All buses can be tracked by GPS and have speed governors installed.”I-schools also claim to offer a number of co-curricular activities such as swimming, taekwondo, music and robotics. "We also have an ambulance 24x7 on campus and we are the only school to have accredited ISO health and safety certification from Moody’s,” claimed the Greenwood High official.The Stonehill International School claims that their campus is fully air-conditioned. An official from Oakridge International School said, “We provide a balancedfocused on shaping the child. Co-curricular activities include both indoor and outdoor yoga, chess, karate, table tennis,, squash, cricket, life skills, music, dance, and athletics.”