VIJAYAWADA: As many as 13 leading international schools from across the world showed keen interest in setting up their campuses in the new capital city of Amaravati, said Ajay Jain, the Principal Secretary of Investments and Infrastructure, during a round table conference on ‘International Schools for Amaravati’ held in Vijayawada on Tuesday.
Explaining the vision for overall economic development and employment generation in the city, Ajay Jain said that two international schools and five private schools would be required to meet the needs of the people settling in Amaravati by 2019.
Details regarding the land requirement for the schools, the model and process of engagement were discussed at the meet. It was proposed that 3 to 5 acres land would be allotted for non-residential schools and 7 to 8 acres for residential campus. Quality-Cost-Based-Process (QCBS) is being considered for the allotment of land, where an initial check will be conducted of the applicants followed by a cost based shortlisting.
Representatives from DPS International mentioned that while they preferred outright sale of land, they would be fine with the proposed leased model.
Global Indian International School (GIIS), Singapore, mentioned that a cost based process might not produce the best quality in schools. A concern around viability was also discussed for schools in the context of the land prices and the demand in the capital city.
Ryan International expressed consonance with the proposed lease model and stressed on the need of future ready schools in a futuristic capital city. Their representative invited the Government to visit their campuses to get a feel of the quality of infrastructure provided. Given the initial low demand, Ryan proposed a ballooning model for lease payments instead of an upfront payment.
Podar International expressed keenness in picking a land parcel in a residential area, and expressed keenness to study the market before finalising the curriculum to be chosen at its schools. Indus International expressed concerns about the policy of capping of fees followed by various states.
They also proposed to the Government to formalise the Right to Education (RTE) requirements as a part of the city education/school policy.
Pathways, one of the top three international schools, from NCR, discussed in detail about the considerations for choosing land for setting up their campus. Prabhat Jain, from Pathways, mentioned that investing in land was just a minor portion that goes into the investment in setting up of a school.
“Around `150 to `200 crore is required to set-up the remaining infrastructure to run the operations of the school,” he said.