International Baccalaureate (IB) to become part of AP state education
VIJAYAWADA: Moving further ahead to bridge the educational gap between rich and poor students, the Jagan-led state government is bringing international education, the International Baccalaureate (IB), to students in government schools.
From now on, IB would become a part of the state council of educational research and training (SCERT), under which an agreement is to be signed on Wednesday between the state’s SCERT and IB, in the presence of chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The officials said the phased implementation of the IB system of education is a major step forward in AP’s efforts to help its students compete and win globally.
“This is an unprecedented initiative in the country. The international standard IB is becoming part of SCERT, and IB is to be introduced systematically in a phased manner, class by class. Under the IB programme, capacity building and training of the teachers will be done in 2024-25 and Class I studies would be launched in the IB system from June, 2025," they said.
In the academic year 2025-26, teaching for Class II in the IB system will continue in this manner, with one class being added each year.
The IB system of education will be offered to students in Class 10 by 2034-35. Joint certification of IB and state board will be done in April 2035.
In the academic year 2036-37, the IB system will be offered to students in Class 12. Joint certification of IB and state board will be done in April 2037.
“The YSRC government has been preparing students for the IB system of education as the government has been committed since 2019 to transforming our children into global citizens. Under this plan, evolutionary changes are being brought to the education system, the officials said.
They said, “English is made a medium of instruction since primary level. Moving from CBSE to IB, the subject teacher concept was introduced from Class III. Infrastructure development and upgradation of schools are carried out to meet the IB standards through Nadu-Nedu, under which 62,000 IFPs are installed in every classroom from Class VI and above to boost digital education. Some 45,000 smart TVs are installed in every school having Class I to Class V, supporting English Labs.”
