Back to Roots

Many NRI parents are sending their children to boarding schools in India
so that kids can stay in touch with their roots and imbibe Indian
culture and values, writes Swati Rai

Most Indians settled or posted abroad are quite happy with the opportunities and facilities in the foreign land. However, most of Indian parents are concerned about their children’s exposure to the Western culture. They feel that there is a tussle between the morals on which they have been brought up and the lack of values that their children are growing up with. As a result, most of the parents have been sending their kids to study in India in the hope of giving them a sound foundation of moral values and academic acumen.

So, is there a clash of civilisations even in the current scenario of international and world-renowned boarding school in India; where the East truly meets the West?

Are the students able to adjust to the demands that the Indian education system makes on them? What changes do the students have to make in order to adapt? Mona Singh, Principal, Guru Nanak Public School (GNPS), Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana, elaborates, "NRI parents send their children to boarding schools in India for the child’s social, cultural and emotional growth. They want them to stay in touch with their roots and imbibe the familial values." Speaking about the adjustment issues, Mona says, "Here, the child has to adjust to another set of new academic expectations, which often exceed those of public and local schools abroad."

Pardip Thind (L), Jasman Grewal (C) and Rajdeep Chahil are studying in YPS, Patiala

According to Dr Simmi Waraich, consultant psychiatrist, Fortis and Ivy Hospital, Mohali, "The child’s adjustment depends on the fact whether the decision to relocate was solely of the parent or whether wishes of the child were also taken into consideration. It also depends on the personality of the child."

A coordinator at a leading international school in the NCR says, "Our school has students whose parents have relocated to India owing to personal and professional reasons. We do not face any such major problems of maladjustment, as we follow the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the IB curriculum. Even the teacher-student ratio is like that of any other school globally."

However, author of the book based on boarding school life, Third Best, and a teacher at the Doon school, KV Arjun Rao, says, "Can you really insulate anyone from the so-called American influence in this day and the age of TV and internet? While we do have some NRI kids studying here, most of the parents have chosen to send the kids across not to shelter them from the so called influence of the Western culture but because some of the parents themselves studied here or because Doon is, in their opinion, a good school."

Puneeteshwar Singh Khela, (15) studies in Class X in GNPS, Ludhiana. He came to Punjab after having studied for 10 years in US. Says Khela, "There is less academic burden on students in America; the second language is another point of difference."

"It was hard leaving my home and my life in the US. Psychologically, I felt very weird, as I didn’t know Punjabi or Hindi. Some kids even made fun of me. But I now realise that academically I have became far stronger here."

Simranjeet Kaur, a Class IX student at GNPS, joined the school after a seven-year academic sojourn at a CBSE school in Dubai. She says, "I am a turbaned Sikh, and I want my religious dignity to be maintained. I want to be in touch with my religion and cultural heritage."

Muskan Gupta, another student from GNPS whose parents live in Surrey, Canada, says, "I have re-learnt Indian culture here and being in India has taught me about my value system."

Is one’s religious identity and culture threatened in a Western setting? Says Dr Waraich, "It is may not be true at all times as people, who take time out and visit friends or gurdwaras in the West, also bring up children with Indian values." Many Indian children, who have studied abroad, may find it difficult initially. Shivani Chander, a counsellor at the Sanskriti School, Chankayapuri, New Delhi, says, "We have many Indian students, children of the Foreign Services’ officers, who have studied in international schools globally. Academically, these students are not used to our rote-learning system. Socially, they are not used to the unquestioning obedience some teachers may expect. They also take time to get used to about some aspects about dress and decorum." Talking about how to adjust in the new environment, Shivani says, "They should follow the norms but not lose their individuality."

Pardip Thind studies in Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, in Class XI. Her parents, originally from Ludhiana, have migrated to the US. Says Pardip, "Coming to the YPS has not been a culture shock, thanks to the numerous trips to India. The academics in the US is more general and in India, quite specific." Jasman Grewal, whose parents sent her from Canada to study at YPS, Patiala, feels, "Everyone is a product of their environment. Owing to the difference in our accent and mannerisms, we tend to stand out. The only way to deal with this is to be focussed on the reason why one’s parents have sent you here."

Mrs Balvir Kaur, Jasman’s mother says, "I was inspired by seeing the changes in Jsaman’s cousin, who had come to study in India from Canada. Overall, I think we made a good decision by sending her to India. She has learnt a lot about the Indian culture."

Temperament of a child and adjustment problems can lead to depression as the child struggles to adapt to change. Rajdeep Chahil, a Class IX student at YPS, Patiala, whose parents are settled in Ottawa, says, "In the co-curricular and the academic sphere, the school has exposed us to many things and activities though it is harder for us to be away from our families as our stress levels and emotional needs are different. We know that we have to adjust to the Indian setting so we react to situations normally and do not go against people’s religious or cultural sentiments." Both Pardip and Rajdeep agree on the plusses of an Indian education such as the discipline, focus, stress on punctuality, the teacher students’ relation and the syllabus in most subjects.

So how does an NRI child gets adjusted to the environment? What about the child’s own individual personality that may affect his adjustment in an alien school culture? Dr Waraich says, "Knowing one’s child is important, making him a part of the decision making, and preparing him for change."

Shivani says, "No generalisations are possible in this as each child’s situation is unique. Though once parents treat the shift as normal and part of life and not as a big deal, the kids will be fine. However, Class XI is academically a tough time to move the kids if they have never been here before." Dr Waraich adds that a lot depends on the way the announcement to move has been made. A friendly approach is better than a dictatorial one.

In this clash between parents having been brought up on curry; and their children growing up on crisps, many a Indian parent has found this middle ground to have the best of both worlds.

Help your child z Celebrating festivals and visit religious places together. z Understand the academic changes of new system. z Child’s coaching of the Indian syllabus should begin in advance z The child should know or learn some Indian languages. z Constant emotional and moral support from a parent is a must.

FACT FILE Pardip Thind with a cousin back home in US z Over the years, the number of children of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and people of Indian origin (PIO) coming to study in India has grown. To make an informed choice, help can be taken from the annual poll of the Best Schools in India, conducted by C-FORE and commissioned by The Education World magazine. z Garnering knowledge about various boards of education followed in respective schools can be beneficial. Apart from the CBSE with CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) and the ICSE; schools in India have started offering the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the IB (International Baccalaureate). z Websites like riol.com, nrispot.com, returntoindiaclubforums.com, nriinformation.com and the Indian government’s official website, India.gov.in, are useful links to identify suitable places to study in India. z The entrance test for most schools can be taken abroad at the Indian consulates or at the test centres recognised by the school. z School fee for NRIs is usually higher than that for Indian students, except those from the SAARC countries. z In most Indian schools, Hindi or the respective regional language is compulsory up to and including Class X, though exemption may be granted to students from abroad. Parents should duly inform the school, and submit evidence letters and certificates from the previous school. z Students who have taken English as an additional subject, apart from their mother tongue, might be required to take a written and an oral test to ascertain their language level.