JAIN Group launches South Asia’s first Cambridge-affiliated K12 Hybrid School- “JIRS Hybrid”

Bengaluru : JAIN Group, an education provider and an entrepreneurship incubator in India with three decades of presence, today announced the launch of JIRS Hybrid. (www.JIRSHybrid.com). A joint venture between JAIN International Residential School, a part of JAIN Group, and Crimson Education, a school development organisation led by educationists and researchers, JIRS Hybrid is affiliated to the Cambridge International Assessment International Education, UK.

The Hybrid Learning Education Model (HLEM), imbibed in JIRS Hybrid, is jointly conceptualised by Mr. Francis Joseph, a well-known educationist and president of School Leaders Network, Mr. Husien Dohadwalla, currently the Founder Principal of JIRS Hybrid and Mr. Reuben Francis, a M. Tech Design Engineering student. The team has successfully filed for a patent in the US and has already secured a copyright in India. JAIN Group is the first education institute in India and South Asia to implement this model. JIRS Hybrid offers international academic programmes right from kindergarten to Grade 12.

JIRS Hybrid will be virtually launched by Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog on 24th December 2021. Dr Chenraj Roychand, Chancellor, JAIN (Deemed-to-be-University), dignitaries from Cambridge (South Asia), educationists and industry experts will be present to witness the launch.

Looking forward to the launch ceremony, Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog said, “JAIN Group has set a benchmark in the country in providing high quality education that emulates global standards. The pandemic has indeed brought in a rapid change in our learning system. While technology may make it possible for classes to go online, the role and the need for physical connection and experiential learning in education is imperative and must go hand-in-hand. As a nation, we are moving towards a more holistic education system and the NEP lays emphasis on practical knowledge and skill development. With this hybrid model, students will be able to benefit from the best of both worlds, modern technology- based learning and in-person experiential learning which is an important part of the overall school experience.”

Arun Rajamani, Managing Director, Cambridge University Press & Assessment, South Asia said “We are pleased to welcome Jain International Residential School as the first Cambridge International school approved to offer Cambridge programmes online. JIRS Hybrid will offer Cambridge International programmes and qualifications in an online format that allows learning without boundaries. To ensure that the curriculum works well, JIRS Hybrid will have easy access to quality teachers, rich resources, and easy stress-free learning for students, benefiting learners and educators alike, thereby strengthening the quality of education for all. Following our Remote School Approval visit, we are extremely convinced with their vision, expertise and learning operating system powered by TMRW. We are confident that this online learning model will be successful in the Indian context and we look forward to a long and productive association with JIRS Hybrid.”

HLEM combines online class delivery with in-school experiences & clear insights on the importance of physical connection in students’ learning journeys. The model is recognised as a most appropriate methodology where teaching and learning happens both online using web-based technologies and face-to-face in-person at physical schools/colleges or independent learning centres. This will also allow institutions to quickly switch to remote learning as and when needed in the new normal era. The annual academic days can be well distributed within face-to-face in-person learning and online learning.

The HLEM revolves around the unique concept of blending ‘Parent campus’ and ‘Home campuses of educational institutions. It will be a network of schools across the globe where students will have access to the best of education without being physically present in the parent campus. The Home campuses shall be neighbourhood schools and colleges, where the in-person learning will take place and the Parent campuses will deal with the cross-breed learning instruction model.

The Parent Campus, a Cambridge-affiliated school, will be responsible to appoint, manage and regulate the functioning of the Home campuses (a local near-by school) in all major cities and towns in India as per a predefined specification. Student certification, assessment and curriculum framework will be done by the Parent campus through the affiliating board – Cambridge. The board exams for Grade 10 and 12 will be conducted offline in a physical school along with the regular candidates and the qualification will be similar to what the regular candidates would obtain. The Home campuses are schools that will collaborate with the parent campus to provide the “face-to-face learning” within the Hybrid Learning Education Model as per the predefined specification of the Parent campus and the affiliated board. They can be located in countries, in and or beyond India.

Highlighting the importance of the model in today’s scenario, Mr. Francis Joseph, the successful US patent applicant for the Hybrid Learning Education Model said, “The time has come to break the industrial functioning of education by removing the rigidness of a typical K12 school and introduce the flexibility for learners, not just for subjects as defined by the National Education Policy 2020, but also the way students can learn and teachers can teach across locations. Through this model, we aim to scale the teaching of quality teachers across physical boundaries, to any learner located in any part of the country or world, however remote that place could be. In our 75th year of our country’s independence, we developed this education model with an aim to give freedom to the learners from being stuck to a bench-desk in a fixed classroom of a physical school.”

Similarly, JIRS K12 Hybrid will offer a blend of online and offline learning system. TMRW’s E-learning platform that provides a comprehensive suite of modules and includes non-academic functionalities such as sports management, counselling and well-being will be used. For JIRS K12 Hybrid, JAIN International Residential School, located near Bengaluru will play the role of a Parent campus and a nearby school for a learner will lead the functions of home campuses.

Mr. Husien Dohadwalla, Founder Principal, JIRS Hybrid said, “Students as well as teachers have been exposed to online teaching-learning during the pandemic. However, we recognise that online and offline learning both play a crucial part of the teaching-learning process and a Hybrid Learning education model like ours will be a permanent fixture in the “new normal”. We are privileged to have our mission in Hybrid learning affiliated by Cambridge as it is the first South Asia affiliated K12 Hybrid School. The move also aligns us with the new education policy that stresses on digital learning, practical knowledge and skill development among others for a more holistic education.”