Daybreak Aakash Chaudhry made millions off the IIT craze. His new target: international schools’ unhappy parents
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May 27, 2025 Atul Krishna, an education and edtech journalist from The Ken, joins the discussion on the shifting landscape of Indian education. He highlights the anxieties parents face with the transition to the International Baccalaureate program. The conversation delves into the challenges of inadequate teacher training and the financial strain of high school fees. Atul also introduces Sparkl Edventure, a new platform aimed at enhancing IB tutoring access, and discusses broader educational solutions for South Asia and the Middle East to better prepare students for university success.
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Akash's Personal IB Concern
- Akash Chaudhry worried about his son switching from Cambridge to IB curriculum after class 10.
- His concern stemmed from widespread parent anxiety about international schools' inadequacies in India.
Partial IB Implementation Issues
- Most international schools in India offer only Cambridge curriculum until the last two years when they switch to IB.
- This partial implementation leads to teachers having to code-switch between very different syllabi, hurting quality.
Sparkl Born From Akash's Experience
- Akash Chaudhry, ex-CEO of Aakash Institute, started Sparkl to address tutoring gaps in IB education.
- Sparkl connects scarce IB-trained tutors online to students nationwide, inspired by Akash's own son's schooling challenges.