The questions that separate a genuinely international school from a CBSE school with a global-sounding name. Print it and take it with you.

Greater Noida has more schools describing themselves as international than any comparable market in Delhi NCR. Brochures do not distinguish between them. These twelve questions do. Take them with you — to us, and to every other school on your list.

On the curriculum

• 1. Which curriculum do you actually teach, and which body accredits you? Ask for the accrediting body by name and the year of the last review. “International outlook” is not an accreditation.
• 2. What is the final credential my child leaves with? A CBSE certificate, an American diploma, an IB Diploma and an IGCSE certificate are four different things with four different consequences.
• 3. Is that credential recognised in India? For a foreign credential, ask specifically about AIU equivalence.

On academics

• 4. Where did the last three graduating cohorts go? Ask for named universities and years, not a logo wall.
• 5. What is the actual class size, grade by grade? Published ratios average across the school. Ask about your child’s likely grade specifically.
• 6. Where are external examinations held? If AP, SAT or IGCSE examinations are sat in another city, that is your Saturday morning and your child’s nerves.

On the people

• 7. What is teacher retention like? The number that matters is how many teachers return each year, not how many degrees they hold.
• 8. Is there a full-time counsellor and a special educator on staff? Full-time, on payroll, on campus — not a visiting arrangement.
• 9. Who will teach my child next year, and can I meet them today? A school confident in its faculty will say yes.

On the things nobody volunteers

• 10. May I see the full fee schedule, including everything not in tuition? Transport, examination fees, trips, uniforms, technology and annual increases. Ask for it in writing.
• 11. What is still under construction, and when will it be finished? Every growing campus has something unfinished. A school that says so is telling you the truth about everything else too.
• 12. May I visit on a normal working day? Open days show a school at its best. A Tuesday shows you the school.

A note on how we would answer them

MDIS is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Our students leave with an American High School Diploma recognised by the Association of Indian Universities as equivalent to the +2 stage. Advanced Placement, SAT and PSAT examinations are sat on our own campus. We employ a full-time counsellor and a full-time special educator. And we would genuinely rather you came on a Tuesday.