5 Primary difference between International School and National School

As a parent, you want your child to have an enriching learning experience with the best of facilities. The question that would naturally come to your mind is, what kind of education will be the best for your child? As international schools gain more popularity day by day, you may wonder if it is better to send your child to an international school rather than a regular national school.

Therefore, it is important to understand the main differences between an international school and a national school before you make a decision. Here are a few points that explain these differences and which would help you reach an informed decision:

Diversity in culture and learning: National schools generally give a great emphasis on textbook learning with a rigid syllabus. On the other hand, international schools provide a diverse and comprehensive education to their students, focusing on learning also from outside the textbooks and out of the classroom. International schools have teachers and students from different parts of the world. This provides an opportunity for the students to learn about new cultures and experiences and also learn to be more inclusive. At MIT Gurukul, we have students from both India and many overseas countries in our yearly cohorts. We also provide a variety of opportunities in sports, creative arts, other interests and regular national and international exposures through study trips, competitions and symposiums.

Progression route for higher education in foreign universities and career opportunities: International schools set a curriculum that is preferred by most foreign universities. The best international schools in Pune, among which MIT Gurukul is one, provide students with better opportunities to apply and get accepted by the best universities all over the globe. These schools, most of which adopt an international curriculum such as the IB or Cambridge, make sure that their method of experiential and hands-on teaching helps the students to grow as individuals and develop a curious mind. They also provide modern facilities that foster career growth and leadership skills in the future. National schools have local or India specific curriculums that rely mostly on marks oriented outcomes and offer fewer extracurricular avenues.

Interaction with teachers: International schools have a low student to teacher ratio, thus the students get individual attention and personalized mentoring on a regular basis. For example, MIT Gurukul, a top residential school in Maharashtra, is known for designing batches of smaller size. This gives ample opportunities for teachers to know each student’s strengths and weaknesses and help them strengthen the strong points and rectify the weak ones.

Learning foreign languages: Many international schools in India teach foreign languages such as German, Spanish, French, Japanese and so on. Children who learn foreign languages get to know about other cultures and can navigate their time easily as they go to study abroad. On the other hand, this kind of an opportunity is not available or limited to students studying in national schools. MIT Gurukul has a dedicated team of teachers with proficiency in teaching foreign languages on its team.

Exceptional infrastructure and residential boarding: The facilities and infrastructure found in international schools are undoubtedly better than that in national schools. Since international schools are also residential schools in most instances, they have on campus student dorms that match international standards, excellent sporting facilities, dedicated technological labs, maker spaces and student study spaces.  This kind of an enriched learning atmosphere helps children to learn swimming, sports, music, dance, painting, debating, and research; as well as helps them grow in their technological prowess. The buildings are also well-ventilated and the libraries have enriching books and digital journals. These schools, including MIT Gurukul, are also some of the best residential boarding schools in India that foster an environment of care, growth, learning and empathy. National schools provide many such facilities but due to limited space over which they are constructed and within the confines of a rigid curriculum they cannot match the facilities provided by international schools.

This is why international schools stand out as a preferred choice for parents who want to ensure a world-class education for their children. MIT Gurukul is dedicated to providing its students the most enriching boarding school experience and the best opportunities to learn, develop and excel in every field of life. If you want to enroll your child with MIT Gurukul, we invite you to visit our campus. Please write to admissions@mitgurukul.com  to fix a schedule for your campus visit.