Hyderabad: Limited to Hyderabad until now, several international schools are gradually seen establishing their presence in Telangana districts — Khammam, Warangal, Nizamabad, and Karimnagar — with at least five such schools coming up in the last couple of years. And despite their hefty fee structures, anywhere between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh per annum, their demand is fast picking up.Even NRIs are eyeing it as an option for their children, say school managements.According to them, this new brand of schools is attracting children who’ve recently returned from the US, the UK, Germany, Australia and Singapore — along with locals — to their classrooms fitted with smart boards and offering an international curriculum. The primary classes in these schools are also equipped with stackable beds, reclining seats to ensure children get enough rest. Even their teachers, recruited from across the country, are trained in Cambridge programmes, apart from a BEd qualification.“Many affluent parents living in the districts, who were enrolling their children in international schools in Hyderabad earlier, are now turning to these schools. In fact, we have a lot of NRI kids too,” said P Ravi Maruth running Cedar Valley International School, in Khammam. “These children either live with their grandparents or one of the two parents, while the other is employed overseas,” he added. Set up in 2023, the school offers an IGCSE syllabus and has 500 students at present.Another school in Warangal, started a few years ago, has also been registering a steady inflow of children – especially till Class 7.Option other than HydParents TOI spoke to seemed elated by this trend – allowing them a choice much closer home. “When my husband moved to the US, we got my son admitted in Class 8 there. However, due to uncertainty because of the current administration, we brought him back to India. Thanks to an international school in Khammam offering Cambridge syllabus, he fit right in, despite not being in a metropolis,” said S Kalyani. Apart from the syllabus, she said, other factors like quality teachers and a wide range of activities also helped her son quickly adapt himself to the new environment.“For some time, we had to enrol him in schools in Hyderabad and Dehradun because of lack of options. Now, we can stay home and also ensure we don’t compromise on his education,” she added.Another parent, Mallela Nageswar Rao, who returned to Karimnagar for good after spending 10 years in the US last year, said all he wanted was a school near his home that offers an international curriculum, which will ignite curiosity and creativity in children. “I looked at international schools in Hyderabad before enrolling my daughter in Karimnagar. While getting an international education, I want her to stay at home and pursue her other hobbies—classical dancing and karate. This was the best option,” said Jawali Reddy, a dentist, whose child is in Class 8 at an international school. “Also, while schools in Hyderabad were charging upwards of Rs 4 lakh per annum, here I am paying only Rs 2 lakh,” said another parent.Teacher training keyEducationalists see this as a welcome change. “While the income levels have increased, many people now want to stay in their hometowns — districts or villages – as long as their children’s education is not compromised. If there is an availability of such schools, the demand is bound to grow,” said KV Praveen Raju, who worked in an IB school for years. He added: “Hyderabad was offering IB syllabus 25 years ago. So, it is not an impossible task for schools in districts to run an international school today, as long as the management is ready to invest in teachers’ training.“
