Reason #3: The Schools Are Disappointing

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that because major international companies have their offices in Bangalore, because vast numbers of college-educated specialists live in Bangalore, then its schools must also be great.

With a handful of exceptions, Bangalore schools range in quality from average to abysmal.

And the general quality of school teachers is among the worst I’ve seen or heard of. Not surprising, actually. Anyone who can walk upright and speak English can get a very well-paying job answering a telephone. With tea-boys at BPOs making as much as teachers and a high cost of living that does not make idealism economically viable, teaching is not the career choice of most smart people.

So the boom in Bangalore has ironically created a situation where there are so many better paying career options that there is actually a shortage of talented teachers at a time when the number of students has gone up due to massive migration and repatriation to the city.

There are 3 main types of schools available in Bangalore: the traditional schools, the international schools, and the new schools.

The Traditional Schools: These are the branded schools whose name everyone recognizes.

Indians moving back to India think: “I went to a no-frills traditional school, and they drilled me and helped me get those exam results I needed to study medicine/engineering/management. I managed to go to the U.S. and kick butt in college. Now I want my U.S.-citizen kids to go through the drill I couldn’t escape because, hey, it wasn’t too bad for me after all.

So what if there are 50-60 kids in a classroom? It’ll teach them to toughen up and appreciate the odds I had to overcome in life. They’ve become pampered softies abroad, thinking they can get hugs from teachers and ask them all the questions they want. Why, it’s good, old-fashioned cramming, mindless bowing to authority and leaping from exam to exam that got me where I am, and no better place to deliver that than a good, old-fashioned reputable school with a good track record.”

It is allegedly impossible to get admission to these schools because they have gargantuan waiting lists that parents signed with their blood before they even conceived their kids. However, offer a generous “donation”, drop a few names, and seats will miraculously become available.

The International Schools: For parents who don’t want to subject themselves and their children to the humiliation of seeking admission to a traditional school, and who have deep pockets, the so-called international schools are a lifesaver.

An international school should offer an international student body, an international teaching staff, an international curriculum and international-quality facilities. The existing international schools sometimes meet maybe one or two, and most often, none of these criteria. They do charge their parents astronomical dollar-equivalent fees comparable to elite private schools overseas, while paying their mostly Indian teachers slightly more than the local schools.

In terms of value, these schools are the ultimate rip-off. My advice: Save the money for college.

Gullible streams of NRIs and expatriates looking for continuity, and a more easygoing and familiar school environment for their children fall for the rolling campuses and soft-sell from these schools. What these parents don’t know, but find out gradually, is that the teachers who staff these schools have had most of their education and training in the traditional Indian system. A few weeks of token “training” or a week abroad does not change a mindset trained to impart knowledge through rote learning, exams and an authoritarian teaching style that is suited to a classroom where children are expected to be seen and not heard. These teachers are affronted when kids ask them questions ("How can I finish the syllabus if kids keep putting up their hands and interrupting me?").

The New Schools: These offer elements of both the international and the traditional schools. In general, they are less finicky about admissions than the traditional schools and have smaller class sizes. They tend to be located on the fringes of the city. Their fees tend to be higher than those of traditional schools, but much lower than those of international schools. They offer a range of sports and extra-curricular activities. They usually offer the traditional ICSE/CBSE curriculum, but without the numbing rigor. Some of these schools offer the Cambridge IGCSE as an option in high school.