As more Indian expatriate
professionals and families come to Singapore, education of their
children has also taken priority.
This has resulted in the setting up of the Indian Central School,
the only one of its kind in the region, at Mount Sophia.
And even before its official opening later this month, the school
has already enrolled some 150 students.
Its main draw is the Indian syllabus known as the Central Board of
Secondary Education (CBSE).
Singing Singapore's National anthem is what students and teachers do
at the start of the day, followed by the Indian national anthem.
Students range in age from three to 14 years.
Even those in Primary One take up to seven subjects, including IT
and social studies.
They learn English and either Tamil or Hindi.
Sanskrit, which doubles up as a moral education class, is also
offered as a third language.
Music and dance lessons add to the variety for a more holistic
education.
Anupama Asthana, Principal of Indian Central School, said: "We also
teach yoga which I feel in today's stressful society is very
important to learn yoga, all the negative emotions of a child that
is anger, anxiety are taken care of, channelised into positive
behaviour."
Currently, all teaching staff are from India and students are
encouraged to participate actively in class and build up their
self-confidence.
Sheeja, English teacher at Indian Central School, said: "We give
scope to the students to think and the answer, rote learning is not
encouraged."
Niranjana Chellapa, student at Indian Central School, said: "Our
timetable is distributed in such a way that we always have something
exciting everyday apart from the regular classroom learning."
Word of mouth marketing has spread the school's reputation, with
some parents even switching schools for their kids.
Mrs Siyal, a parent, said: "We wanted something a little bit
conservative and morally very strong, so we had a look at this and
it suited our requirements."
Vivek Kulkarni, a parent, said: "You have the same standard of
teaching here and in India, so the continuity is very crucial."
Atul Temurnikar, Chairman of Indian Central School, said: "We have
support from the Indian government, from the Education Ministry as
well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
The school plans to have its own premises housing some 600 students
in five years.
It has also started a fund-raising exercise as part of its expansion
plans.
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