Kodaikanal International School to set up experiential learning centre

CHENNAI: Kodaikanal International School (KIS), which has a plush campus near Palani Hills, is looking to put it for good use, academically. The management has announced that it will set up an experiential learning centre on the campus for research on environment and an outdoor campus experience.
“It is the school’s new mission to provide for a healthy planet and our commitment to the ecologically important Palani Hills,” said school principal Corleigh Stixrud on Sunday.“Students can speak to local farmers on the effects of climate change, learn about the flora and fauna and we will invite experts to carry out work on environmental issues.”
This 92-acres of wilderness, which is currently used by students for hiking and camping, will soon be open for middle and high school students as a good four-month outdoor residential programme.
A curriculum has already been drafted, and children are most likely to be cut off from the internet and only work in natural settings. “We will also open it for other schools and students or any group that is interested in studying the environment,” said chairman Anil Henry.
The EducationWorld India School Rankings has ranked Kodaikanal International School as India’s number one international residential school in 2013 and 2014. “The school scored maximum in the competence of faculty,” said Hemalatha Raghupathi, Chennai correspondent, EducationWorld.
The survey is conducted in Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kanpur, Bhopal, Kolkata and Kochi, interviewing more than 1,000 parents, teachers, principals, educationists and academicians.