Couple’s Vision for Municipal Schools

An Experiment Which Introduces IB Curriculum To Municipal Schools

In a successful experiment in Ahmedabad, Pascal Chazot, a French Parliamentarian and his wife, Anju Musafir (Indian) adopted a municipal school, turning it into a leading institution with an international curriculum on offer. The couple now wants to replicate this success in other Indian cities, including Mumbai.

“It was a joint venture with the municipal corporation there. We introduced the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum in the school. Four batches (around 120 students) have passed out and have gone ahead to study in universities within the country and abroad,” said Musafir. “We did face severe opposition as people were averse to the idea of a municipal school teaching in English and that too an international curriculum,” she added.

Although they had to face red-tapism and opposition, Chazot is now ready to take their experiment across the country. “Several children study in municipal schools in Mumbai too. Now that we have tested our project in a particular part of the country, we are confident we can take it to other places,” said Chazot.

However, Musafir said the infrastructure alone is not enough, and what is more important is the mindset of the school authorities and parents. “Every municipal school in the city has the potential to be an international school. We are also open to collaboration with like-minded groups or individuals who want to enhance the quality of municipal schools in Mumbai.” she said.

Chazot and Musafir are now planning to meet human resource & development minister, Kapil Sibal to see how this model can be taken to other parts of the country.

At their current school, an alternative model of education is offered from KG to Std XII, where the focus is largely on innovative projects and application of studies to real-life. The aim is that students can concentrate on “how to learn” and not “what to learn”.

“Even if we offer an Indian curriculum in a municipal school, we need to see that it’s of high quality. Even those from a privileged class should want to study there. That’s our vision,” she added.