Elite UK schools land in India get schooled in local realities - The Ken

“I knew about the Indian Standard Time. But after coming to India, I learnt about Indian stretchable time.”

This is how Andrew Leale, founding principal of the Bengaluru campus of the UK-based Harrow International School described his first lesson learnt in the country. He was referring to the wait time during appointments booked by parents for counselling.

“In the UK, if you had a slot at 11 a.m. and you didn’t turn up by 11.30 a.m., we’d say, ‘Sorry, your appointment is cancelled’. In India, that doesn’t fly,” he admitted. “Managing your calendar becomes tough.”

A 450-year-old institution from Greater London, Harrow School has produced seven British and an Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, besides a number of Nobel laureates, poets, businessmen, and more (read British actor Benedict Cumberbatch). One would think such a legacy institution would have its ways set in stone. Yet, its India experience so far has taught it to be flexible.

These lessons apply not only to Harrow but also to a number of other international schools that are looking to tap the growing ranks of affluent families. But their desire to leverage their global legacy in India is up against harsh local realities.

Take Wellington College International (WCI), for instance. When the subsidiary of Wellington College, Berkshire—UK’s leading day and boarding school—started recruiting local teachers for its first Indian campus in Pune, Maharashtra, it didn’t immediately think of hiring local bilingual teachers. When it was pointed out that the state mandates offering Marathi as a subject, WCI decided to modify the advertisements.

Murray Tod, the headmaster of WCI Pune, told The Ken that he occasionally refers to the copy of the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. He emphasised that the policy promotes learning in the mother tongue.

“Compliances [here] have a negative connotation,” he said. “I find it intriguing how Indian regulations are so deep and have set the bar high.”

Notably, 2023 may well be the year when India’s education system internationalises. After the central government opened the gates for foreign universities, universities, The Indian Express Australia’s Deakin University to be the first foreign varsity to set up campus in India Read more a similar trend is unfolding in schools.

Apart from Harrow and Wellington, authorities from the UK’s largest co-educational boarding and day school, Millfield School, have been on a couple of exploratory trips to India. The US-based Rutgers Prep School also plans to set up four American Eduglobal Schools American Eduglobal Schools American Eduglobal Schools American Eduglobal School is a chain of international schools in India formed as a partnership between Saddle River Day School, New Jersey, USA and Edoventures, an Indian company.

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