Chennai, 30 November 2019: British Council, the UK's international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities, recognized 105 schools with International School Award (ISA) today. The winning schools are from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Puducherry. South India now has 850 ISA-awardees, representing a band of schools committed to providing international exposure for its pupils and faculty to help them be global citizens in the wake of global awareness.
The International School Award acknowledges schools which have worked towards increasing opportunities for international collaboration and making their students global citizens through their curriculum-based work. Launched in India in 2003, the ISA programme has recorded participation from over 2,500 schools across the country. From private schools to government schools and schools for children with special needs, the ISA programme has enabled schools in India to connect with schools globally. As of 2019, the British Council honours schools with the ISA award in 31 countries worldwide.
The winning schools have demonstrated exemplary qualities of team-management, innovative problem solving and an international outlook in their projects. The participation from government schools peaked this year with more schools choosing to scale up their online presence with 'Schools Online', a virtual platform helping schools to support each other through the exchange of ideas and best practices. The programme benefits the entire school, including its teachers and pupils, thus having the potential to create a positive impact on the wider community.
Janaka Pushapanathan, Director South India, British Council said, “More schools are moving towards internationalising their curriculum and are signing up their students and staff for school-based online platforms like the British Council's 'Schools Online' programme. The online platform is not only equipping students with 21st century skills but is also connecting schools in India to schools in other parts of the world. Under the ISA programme this year, schools have worked on inspiring projects like Bio wonders in colorful river, Management of waste generated from glass industries and oil refineries, School enterprise challenge. Such projects will not only benefit the schools but also the larger community”.
The British Council has been deeply connected with the :Indian schools' ecosystem to drive systemic changes by working closely with various state governments across India to provide English training for teachers and students under respective MoUs. Within South India, the British Council has MoUs with State Governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh that focus on creating opportunities for the youth by improving access to English language learning, quality education, and internationally benchmarked assessments, skills and qualifications and professional development of teachers through teacher-focused training programmes.
