Global Indian school chain gets IFC funding for new schools

A global chain of schools providing education with Indian values, especially meant for the diaspora, has received funding from the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) to set up more institutions in India and Southeast Asian countries. The IFC will provide Singaporean $25 mn ($19.4 mn) to the Global Indian International School(GIIS), run by the Global Schools Foundation (GSF) that has 20 campuses in seven countries, for setting up/acquiring new schools in South and Southeast Asian countries, GIIS officials said here Monday. A GIIS statement cited IFC director Vipul Prakash as saying that "GIIS' ability to implement high standards of educational delivery helps in driving innovation in the primary and secondary education sector and fulfils the growing need for quality education in emerging markets". The investment is in line with IFC's strategy for education sector in Asia, which includes supporting service providers, he added. GSF co-founder Atul Temurnikar said that IFC's long-term loan will "allow us to accelerate our expansion plan and reach more students throughout the region". GIIS plans to use a significant part of the funding in India where two new schools are scheduled to come up in Bangalore and Ahdmedabad, to complement its existing schools in Noida, Surat and Indore, said its country chief (India) Rajeev Katyal. "We plan to open two more schools in Ahmedabad and Bangalore. The Bangalore facility will be ready by 2014 and the admissions will start by September this year," Katyal told IANS. He said unlike other premier institutions like the Delhi Public School chain, which set up branches in other countries after establishing itself in India, GIIS came to India after establishing itself in various countries such as Singapore. The GIIS aims at holistic development of its students with a mix of Indian values and an international mindset, and encourages them to interact with their counterparts in other schools to inculcate an international outlook as India becomes a global player, he said. GIIS also offers upto 10 scholarships for Indian students to study in their Queenstown campus in Singapore. "Besides India, we are also looking to set up schools in the Gulf countries," said Katyal. The group offers Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Global Montessori Plus programme in its institutions. The GSF's founders include late parliamentarian L.M. Singhvi, former Supreme Court judge D.M. Dharmadhikari and former cricketer Chandu Borde.