Welcome change for IB diploma students
Result declaration dates have been advanced to facilitate admission in varsities.
Hyderabad: Students doing diploma programme (plus two level) in schools having IB (International Baccalaureate) have reason to rejoice.
The top brass of the Geneva-based IBO (International Baccalaureate Organisation) has taken note of the concerns of Indian students in particular and Asian students in general, over declaration of results in July, which deprives them of chance to seek admission at leading universities.
IBO director general Dr Siva Kumari said that they are considering declaration of final results a few weeks in advance for the convenience of scores of students pursuing diploma education in the country. Students heading overseas were not facing problems. The ones affected were those wishing to continue their higher education in India.
By the time these students approached varsities for admission, the seats are already filled up. Prasanna Mandava, joint director at Oakridge International School, which has a presence in four states, said that advancing results declaration schedule would benefit students studying at institutions like Indus, Chirec, Sreenidhi, Johnsons Grammar and Hyderabad International besides Oakridge.
The top brass of IB is also reaching out to leading universities worldwide, especially those in the US to exempt IB- trained students from writing tests like TOEFL and IELTS, which are primarily aimed at testing English language skills.
IBO DG Dr Kumari says that the level of education being taught at diploma level in IB network schools is of very high standard with extra focus on English language.
Testing language skills of such students is not required at all, she felt. International Baccalaureate, which has its presence in over 104 countries including US, UK, Australia, Germany, Japan etc, is on an expansion mode in India, especially in South India with many schools in Hyderabad, Chennai, Guntur and Visakhapatnam.
A three-day Asia Pacific Annual Conference that concluded here on Saturday deliberated on strategies to increase IB’s footprint in India and how it can be matched with local Indian curriculum.