Childbirth is a joyous and eagerly-awaited moment in a person’s
life. Not only the parents but the larger family also join in the happiness.
This joy and happiness take on edges of tension as the child reaches the age of
3. Selecting a school, the school applications, the fund of knowledge gained
from grandparents, neighbors, office colleagues and of course, the omniscient
Google Baba—manage to make for a stressful time for the parents.
Nowadays with most schools opting for online processes, it
has become less tiring as one does not have to do the rounds of various schools
and navigate the serpentine queues as earlier. Yet, many first time parents are
racked by doubts whether their criterion for selecting the school was
appropriate for their child. This article seeks to help them to navigate their
way through their doubts and reach an informed decision.
Location: It is important and desirable to choose a school which is
not far from the house. Commuting is less stressful for the child and the
parent can reach the school quickly in case of an emergency. Considering the
traffic woes faced by every city and town, it makes a lot of sense to admit the
child in a neighborhood school.
Student-teacher ratio: The accepted norm in most states is 1:30 teacher-student
ratio. Of course in international schools, it is even lower at 1:15/20. Studies
have found that children learn better when individual attention is given by the
teacher, thereby, enhancing their learning capabilities and this is definitely
not possible in a class of say, 60!
Fees: This is the tricky part. Parents generally are willing to
over-extend themselves to admit their children in ‘good’ schools. But not all
expensive schools are good and neither is the opposite true. One has to
consider one’s budgetary constraints vis-a-vis the deliverables by the school.
– Is the child learning according to his age?
– Does the school have a robust security system?
– Is it in line with modern technologies?
Before paying exorbitant fees, a parent has to find
answers to these questions. With each new government challenging the age-old
methods, quality education is anyway a luxury in India.
Curriculum: It is important for a parent to find out about the curriculum
of the school. Although at the pre-primary stage most parents are not unduly
concerned about the academics (as they are more interested in the happiness
quotient of their child) still they need to have an understanding of what
curriculum the school follows for the later classes. Most importantly, the
student should not be spending an inordinate amount of time on home tasks, at
least until he reaches the Middle School. In India, CBSE is the most accepted
board after state boards but there are a number of international boards like IB
and IGCSE which are gaining in popularity.
Extra-curricular activities: Schools today are very progressive in their organization
and they do not cater merely to a child’s academic knowledge. All-round
development is the watchword of today’s schools. Hence extra-curricular
activities are given a lot of importance. It helps to bring out the latent
potential of a child and ensures his social, physical and emotional
development. Most school websites will give information about the
extra-curricular activities that they focus on and develop. Old students and
parents of students studying there are also resources that can be tapped.
Quality of teachers: This again is a grey area. How can one judge the quality
of teaching? Should one just go by the academic qualifications of teachers or
should word-of-mouth publicity be relied on? Are the teachers affectionate and
loving? No parent wants a disciplinarian when the child is crying his heart out
on his first day. It is difficult to judge as every school has its own approach
and the teachers adhere to that. Having said that, today, most schools are very
careful in their selection of teachers, especially in the lower classes.
Hygiene, facilities, and security: Where security was not
a very big concern two decades ago, schools today are being judged on the
safety meter alone sometimes. As the crime rate goes up, so do the security
measures. After all, every parent needs to feel that their child is safe within
the four walls of the school. Simultaneously, a parent has to check whether the
school has a good infrastructure, clean and hygienic classrooms and washrooms,
a safe play area and last but not least, a trained medical facility that can
deal with emergencies.
The list seems exhaustive but if one is able to get at
least 5 out of the 7 criteria, it should be okay. It is not in any order of
importance. That order needs to be set by the parent himself. A school should
be a happy place for the child at any age.
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