An explosion in the number of Indian workers here has prompted a long-term Indian resident of Tokyo to open a school that offers her compatriots' children an opportunity to learn about their cultural heritage.
The India International School in Japan, which opened in Tokyo's Koto Ward in August, is the first of its kind. It has 35 pupils -- 23 kindergartners and 12 elementary school students, including one Japanese and two Pakistani children. Located in the bustling capital city of Tokyo, India International School in Japan (IISJ) is a private, co-educational elementary school.
After careful evaluation of the curricula, IISJ has decided to opt for CBSE and ICSE curriculum as the most appropriate curriculum for their school. Students relocating from (and eventually back to) India will not be disrupting their coursework. In fact, it will only be complemented by their unique opportunity to live and share in a thriving, cosmopolitan city.
"The main reason (for opening the school) is that (more and more Indian) information technology families are coming to Japan. These families are with young children, but they don't have schools for themselves," said school President Nirmal Jain, who has lived in Japan for 30 years.
The school, founded with financial support from Indian residents here as well as some Japanese supporters, is chiefly designed to satisfy the needs of Indian residents, said Jain, who has also worked as a radio announcer at Japan Broadcasting Corp., better known as NHK.
Meera Gadgil, whose husband runs a computer software firm here, cited cheaper tuition fees as one of the attractions of Jain's school, which her three-year-old son attends.
Monthly tuition at the India school costs 50,000 yen, roughly half of what is charged by an international school on average.
The school offers a program modeled on the Indian government-set primary school education curriculum, supplying the same textbooks and teaching the Hindi language.
Classes are taught in English, another official language in India, by mostly Indian women who have teaching experience at home, Jain said.
Address:
India International School In Japan (IISJ)
C/O Kudan Bhavan,
1-15-14, Kudankita, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo-JAPAN
102-0073
India International School in Japan Official Website
The India International School in Japan, which opened in Tokyo's Koto Ward in August, is the first of its kind. It has 35 pupils -- 23 kindergartners and 12 elementary school students, including one Japanese and two Pakistani children. Located in the bustling capital city of Tokyo, India International School in Japan (IISJ) is a private, co-educational elementary school.
After careful evaluation of the curricula, IISJ has decided to opt for CBSE and ICSE curriculum as the most appropriate curriculum for their school. Students relocating from (and eventually back to) India will not be disrupting their coursework. In fact, it will only be complemented by their unique opportunity to live and share in a thriving, cosmopolitan city.
"The main reason (for opening the school) is that (more and more Indian) information technology families are coming to Japan. These families are with young children, but they don't have schools for themselves," said school President Nirmal Jain, who has lived in Japan for 30 years.
The school, founded with financial support from Indian residents here as well as some Japanese supporters, is chiefly designed to satisfy the needs of Indian residents, said Jain, who has also worked as a radio announcer at Japan Broadcasting Corp., better known as NHK.
Meera Gadgil, whose husband runs a computer software firm here, cited cheaper tuition fees as one of the attractions of Jain's school, which her three-year-old son attends.
Monthly tuition at the India school costs 50,000 yen, roughly half of what is charged by an international school on average.
The school offers a program modeled on the Indian government-set primary school education curriculum, supplying the same textbooks and teaching the Hindi language.
Classes are taught in English, another official language in India, by mostly Indian women who have teaching experience at home, Jain said.
Address:
India International School In Japan (IISJ)
C/O Kudan Bhavan,
1-15-14, Kudankita, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo-JAPAN
102-0073
India International School in Japan Official Website