The Importance of Protecting Patents

   America’s economic engine is fueled by innovation. The ideas and inventions that emerge from researchers’ labs or the garages of budding entrepreneurs have spawned powerhouse companies, even new industries.
But turning ideas into products usually requires a crucial step: getting a patent. Patents provide years of protection, ensuring that innovators’ investments won’t be undercut by copycats. As Abraham Lincoln once famously said, patents add “the fuel of interest to the fire of genius.”

  

 

So it’s not surprising that intellectual property can be immensely valuable. Universities bring in millions of dollars every year from licensing patents. Billions of dollars in damages have also been awarded when patent holders sue companies for infringement.

In fact, patents can be so valuable that some people and companies do nothing but snap up obscure patents, often of dubious quality, to use as weapons to extract licensing fees or damages from major corporations. The tech industry derisively calls these entities “patent trolls” and has set up an “anti-troll” organization, Unified Patents, to challenge the validity of patents.
So is it possible to tell the legitimate innovators from the trolls? There are two ways. First, did the company actually make the invention — and file for patent — itself? Second, have the company’s patents survived the inevitable challenge from Unified Patents?

  

 

There’s one interesting company for which both answers are a resounding Yes.
Long before the iPhone was introduced, the engineers at Voip-Pal (OTCQB: VPLM) had a vision that telephone calls, text messages and other information would travel over the Internet. So they invented and patented all the technology needed to route calls back and forth from the Internet to other networks.
That technology is now used by major telecom and social media companies, but none have licensed the patents. That’s why Voip-Pal has sued a number of giant telecom companies for billions of dollars in damages. And, crucially, the effort by Unified Patents to invalidate Voip-Pal’s patents failed.
Voip-Pal hopes to either win or settle the cases, demonstrating once again the enormous value of high-quality patents.

The Opioid Crisis’ Latest Victims: Addicted Babies

 And now the nation’s opioid crisis is putting newborn babies at risk.
The use of prescription painkillers like OxyContin by women during pregnancy has resulted in what’s being called “an explosion” of infants as addicted to the drugs as their mothers. Newly published data in JAMA Pediatrics shows the number of cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) has risen five-fold in the U.S. from 2000 to 2012 — that’s nearly 22,000 affected infants in that last year alone — and the reality behind those stats is heart-wrenching.

  

 

 “The babies, they really suffer, just like adults do when they withdraw from narcotics,” Dr. Terrie Inder, chair of pediatric newborn medicine at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told CBS News. “The babies are very irritable and sometimes have high heart rates, sweating, flushing, diarrhea. They cry a lot.”
Heightening experts’ concern:
* The crucial early “bonding” between mother and child is disrupted, given the babies’ average hospital stay of 24 days.
* The mothers — often unaware of the potential collateral damage from the painkillers they’ve been taking — experience what Inder calls “anxiety and guilt.”

  

Back and neck discomfort is especially common during pregnancy since women’s postural changes can result in spine and pelvic pain. The open question is whether this latest development — combined with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s call last year for physicians to dramatically curtail prescribing opioids — will encourage more women to seek alternatives like drug-free chiropractic care.
“All chiropractors are trained to work with women who are pregnant,” the American Pregnancy Association says, lauding their expertise in “establishing pelvic balance and alignment.”

As the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress notes, visits to highly educated and trained doctors of chiropractic are covered by most insurance and health plans.

Amateur Athletes Seek Non-Opioid Pain Relief

 They may not make those “Agony of Defeat” sports reels, but amateur athletes get injured all the time. Maybe it’s from an awkward golf swing. Or maybe it’s from not warming up or stretching before an event.
Whatever the cause, though, there’s one scary thing they have in common with the pros.

  

 

  “The reality is that all athletes are one fall, twist, or tweak away from landing their own opioid prescription,” Outside magazine warned.
The warning couldn’t be better timed. It’s not just that the country is in the midst of an opioid crisis that’s claimed the lives of thousands of prescription painkiller abusers and left countless more addicted to the likes of OxyContin. It’s also that — as the magazine also noted — physicians seem to be starting to heed last year’s urging by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to dramatically curtail prescribing the drugs.

  

 

 According to a survey conducted for the Boston Globe by the SERMO physicians social network, more than half of doctors across America are doing exactly that, and nearly one in 10 have completely stopped prescribing them.
So what’s an amateur athlete suffering from pain supposed to do? One especially popular alternative is drug-free chiropractic care.
Whereas opioids (and Ibuprofen forms of over-the-counter drugs) only “mask” the pain, doctors of chiropractic approach the problem highly educated and trained in the structure and function of the human body.

And they use hands-on techniques to help enhance flexibility, muscle strength, and range of motion -; the very things all athletes need addressing. And yes, as the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress’ Dr. Sherry McAllister says, chiropractic is covered by most insurance and health plans.

Why Yoga Relieves Stress, Improves Health and Balances Your Life

 Life is stressful. Between a down economy, long commutes to a job you may not even like, and overbearing bosses, not to mention trying to eke out a few minutes of "me" time in between diaper changes and dinner dates with your significant other, life can be challenging.Equally apparent is that for decades we’ve been told that yoga can combat all of these stressors — and yet, it seems as if it is one of the last things people try to take the edge off.

  

For Leslie Crespi, a social worker in Atlanta, it was the changes she saw in a colleague that got her to consider attending an Inner Engineering program of Isha yoga. A key component to the practice is the "kriya," which Crespi describes to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview as a "process to energize and balance the human system using breathing.""The kriya gives me a sense of balance and the ability to deal with life as it is," she tells the paper. "It’s not about what I do anymore. It’s about how I am, and that’s a beautiful way to live."If the thought of having more balance and energy in your life sounds intriguing, the Isha Institute of Inner Sciences may just be for you.Nestled in Tennessee’s spectacular Upper Cumberland (45 minutes outside of Chattanooga), the retreat center offers daily campus tours that include light hikes, rejuvenating time spent in Adiyogi: Abode of Yoga (an energized meditation space), and a visit to the largest yoga and meditation hall in the western hemisphere.

  For daytrippers, visitors learn yoga for free, if they arrive in the scheduled time for the session each day.Looking to stay awhile? An overnight includes the option of private studio accommodations, delicious vegetarian buffet meals, and an introductory yoga session of the visitor’s choice, such as the yoga of sound, yoga for strengthening the joints, and yoga for purifying life energies.The center also offers a myriad of opportunities for hiking and mountain biking on forested trails winding throughout nearly 1,400 acres. The center’s five miles of mountain biking trails feature waterfalls, a spring-fed creek, and bluff overlooks.And for those strictly interested in getting centered, there are beginning level yoga and meditation weekends, classical Hatha yoga programs, and individual wellness retreats.

For more information, please visit www.IshaUSA.org.  

Chiropractic Care Eases Pain During Pregnancy

 For pregnant women, pain relief from lower back pain can be a challenge. This is magnified for those expectant mothers who seek opiate painkillers to relieve pain symptoms during pregnancy.

  

Cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) — in which babies are born addicted to opioids because of their mothers’ use of the drugs during pregnancy — have increased fivefold between 2000 and 2012, based on data from mothers and babies in the United States published in the journal, JAMA Pediatrics. That number represents approximately 22,000 infants within the last year, according to the study.

New Nighttime Grind Guard Relieves Jaw Pai

Don’t be so quick to blame your sore jaw or stiff neck on sleeping on a flat pillow or at an odd angle. Instead, a pattern of subconscious nighttime teeth grinding and jaw clenching (known as bruxism) could be to blame.
Bruxism is more common than most people realize — approximately 1 in 6 American adults suffer from it.

 

  Signs of bruxism include teeth pain or sensitivity, as well as pain in the jaw,

 neck, or inner ear. If left untreated, bruxism also can cause permanent damage to the teeth by wearing away the protective enamel. And compromised enamel also increases the risk of developing cavities and gum disease.
Bruxism is most often caused by stress and, although there is no specific medication or treatment to cure bruxism, the condition can be managed successfully by using a nighttime dental guard as part of a regular oral health care routine.

One problem, however, is that current products wear down quickly or don’t position the jaw to relieve the symptoms of bruxism sufferers.
Enter the Ora-Guard Dental Grind Guard, a newly designed product that has been reviewed and cleared by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for use by patients with bruxism.

This nighttime dental guard is made of a soft, medical-grade material designed for comfort and to help absorb the pressure of jaw clenching.
Unlike other products available, the guard also features hard- surface molar pads to protect the teeth from the back-and-forth grinding pressure of nighttime bruxism.

The unique 2mm bite wedge design naturally slides the lower jaw down and forward, and has clinically shown to increase the airway by 30 percent, aiding in more natural breathing during sleep.

  

 

  In addition, Ora-Guard is significantly less expensive than a customized dentist-made grind guard. An easy, individualized custom fit can be obtained with the simple 60 second microwave fit procedure.

A flexible labial strap allows the guard to accommodate most mouth sizes, and T-bars along each side help to hold it securely in place. Another key feature is the low level of maintenance: simply rinse the guard with mouthwash or water before using it at night and store it in the accompanying case during the day.

Because of its more advanced materials, the life of this guard is more than six months compared to current guards, which have a much shorter life span.
Visit www.ora-guard.com for more information about identifying and managing bruxism

Education theory

Education theory :-

Education theory seeks to know, understand and prescribe educational policy and practice. The Education theory includes many topics, such as pedagogy, andragogy, curriculum, learning, and education policy, organization and leadership. Educational thought is informed by many disciplines, such as history, philosophy, sociology, and psychology.

For example, a cultural theory of education considers how education occurs through the totality of culture, including prisons, households, and religious institutions as well as schools. Other examples are the behaviorist theory of education that comes from educational psychology and the functionalist theory of education that comes from sociology of education.

The earliest known attempts to understand education in Europe were by classical Greek philosophers and sophists, but there is also evidence of contemporary (or even preceding) discussions among Arabic, Indian, and Chinese scholars.

Educational philosophies:-

Normative philosophies or theories of education may make use of the results of [philosophical thought] and of factual inquiries about human beings and the psychology of learning, but in any case they propound views about what education should be, what dispositions it should cultivate, why it ought to cultivate them, how and in whom it should do so, and what forms it should take. In a full-fledged philosophical normative theory of education, besides analysis of the sorts described, there will normally be propositions of the following kinds: 

1. Basic normative premises about what is good or right; 

2. Basic factual premises about humanity and the world; 

3. Conclusions, based on these two kinds of premises, about the dispositions education should foster;

4. Further factual premises about such things as the psychology of learning and methods of teaching;

And

5. Further conclusions about such things as the methods that education should use.

Feminist Educational Theory Scholars such as Robyn Wingman argue that, “academic feminism is perhaps the most successful institutionalizing project of its generation, with more full-time faculty positions and new doctoral degree programs emerging each year in the field it inaugurated, Women's Studies”. 

Feminist educational theory stems from four key tenets, supported by empirical data based on surveys of feminist educators. The first tenet of feminist educational theory is, “Creation of participatory classroom communities”. Participatory classroom communities often are smaller classes built around discussion and student involvement. The second tenet is, “Validation of personal experience”. Classrooms in which validation of personal experience occur often are focused around students providing their own insights and experiences in group discussion, rather than relying exclusively on the insight of the educator. The third tenant is, “Encouragement of social understanding and activism”. This tenet is generally actualized by classrooms discussing and reading about social and societal aspects that students may not be aware of, along with breeding student self-efficacy. The fourth and final tenet of feminist education is, “Development of critical thinking skills/open-mindedness”. Classrooms actively engaging in this tenant encourage students to think for themselves and prompt them to move beyond their comfort zones, working outside the bounds of the traditional lecture-based classroom. Though these tenets at times overlap, they combine to provide the basis for modern feminist educational theory, and are supported by a majority of feminist educators.

Opposition:-

Opposition to feminist educational theory comes from both those who oppose feminism in general and feminist who oppose feminist educational theory in particular. Critics of feminist educational theory argue against the four basic tenants of the theory, “… [Contesting] both their legitimacy and their implementation”. 

Lewis Lehman particularly describes feminist educational ideology as, ‘Therapeutic pedagogy’ that substitutes an ‘overriding’ (and detrimental) value on participatory interaction for the expertise of the faculty” (Hoffman). Lehman argues that the feminist educational tenants of participatory experience and validation of person experience hinder education by limiting and inhibiting the educator’s ability to share his or her knowledge, learned through years of education and experience.

Others challenge the legitimacy of feminist educational theory, arguing that it is not unique and is instead a sect of libratory education. Even feminist educational scholars such as Frances Hoffmann and Jayne Stake are forced to concede that, “feminist pedagogy shared intellectual and political roots with the movements comprising the libratory education agenda of the past 30 years”. These libratory attempts at the democratization of classrooms demonstrate a growth in libratory education philosophy that some argue feminist educational theory simply piggybacks off of.

There are countless supporters of feminist education as well, many of whom are educators or students. Student-turned-professor Becky Ropers-Hillman recounts one of her positive experiences with feminist education from the student perspective, explaining that she “… felt very ‘in charge’ of [her] own learning experiences,” and “… was not being graded-or degraded... [while completing] the majority of the assigned work for the class (and additional work that [she] thought would add to class discussion),” all while “… [Regarding] the teacher’s feedback on [her] participation as one perspective, rather than the perspective”. Ropers experienced a working feminist classroom that successfully motivated students to go above and beyond, succeeding in generating self-efficacy and caring in the classroom.

When Ropers became a teacher herself, she embraced feminist educational theory, noting that, “[Teachers] have an obligation as the ones who are vested with an assumed power, even if that power is easily and regularly disrupted, to assess and address the effects that it is having in our classrooms”. 

Ropers firmly believes that educators have a duty to address feminist concepts such as the use and flow of power within the classroom, and strongly believes in the potential of feminist educational theory to create positive learning experiences for students and teachers as she has personally experienced.

Leading feminist scholar bell hooks argues for the incorporation of feminism into all aspects of society, including education, in her book Feminism is for everybody. 

Hooks notes that, “Everything [people] know about feminism has come into their lives third hand”. Hooks believes that education offers a counter to the, “… won minded notion of feminist movement which implied it was anti-male”. Hooks cites feminism’s negative connotations as major inhibitors to the spread and adoption of feminist ideologies. However, feminist education has seen tremendous growth in adoption in the past few decades, despite the negative connotations of its parent movement.

Educational anthropology:-

Educational anthropology is a sub-field of anthropology and is associated with the pioneering work of George Spindle. The focus of educational anthropology is obviously on education, although an anthropological approach to education tends to focus on the cultural aspects of education, including informal as well as formal education. Education involves understandings of who we are, it is not surprising that the single most recognized dictum of educational anthropology is that the field is centrally concerned with cultural transmission. 

It is also known as en culturation and also transfer of identity between cultures, sometimes known as acculturation. 

Accordingly, thus it is also not surprising that educational anthropology has become increasingly focused on ethnic identity and ethnic change.

Education

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods include storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and directed research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators, but learners may also educate themselves. Education can take place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. The methodology of teaching is called pedagogy.

A right to education has been recognized by some governments, including at the global level: Article 13 of the United Nations' 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes a universal right to education. In most regions education is compulsory up to a certain age.

Education began in prehistory, as adults trained the young in the knowledge and skills deemed necessary in their society. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling passed knowledge, values, and skills from one generation to the next. As cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond skills that could be readily learned through imitation, formal education developed. Schools existed in Egypt at the time of the Middle Kingdom.

In most countries today, full-time education, whether at school or otherwise, is compulsory for all children up to a certain age. Due to this the proliferation of compulsory education, combined with population growth, UNESCO has calculated that in the next 30 years more people will receive formal education than in all of human history thus far.

Primary:-

Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first five to seven years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six to eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of children aged six to twelve are enrolled in primary education and this proportion is rising. Under the Education for All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education are mostly referred to as primary schools or elementary schools. Primary schools are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school.

Secondary:-

In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, "post secondary", or "higher" education (e.g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia, primary and secondary educations together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education, or to train directly in a profession.

 Higher education:-

Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school such as a high school or secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities mainly provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Individuals who complete tertiary education generally receive certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.

University education includes teaching, research, and social services activities, and it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Universities are generally composed of several colleges. 

Purpose of schools:-

Individual purposes for pursuing education can vary. Understanding the goals and means of educational socialization processes may also differ according to the sociological paradigm used.

Some claim that there is education inequality because children did not exceed the education of their parents. This education inequality is then associated with income inequality. Although critical thinking is a goal of education, criticism and blame are often the unintended by products of our current educational process. Students often blame their teachers and their textbooks, despite the availability of libraries and the internet. When someone tries to improve education, the educational establishment itself occasionally showers the person with criticism rather than gratitude. Better by products of an educational system would be gratitude and determination.

Developed countries have people with more resources (housing, food, transportation, water and sewage treatment, hospitals, health care, libraries, books, media, schools, the internet, education, etc.) than most of the world's population. One merely needs to see through travel or the media how many people in the undeveloped countries live to sense this. However, one can also use economic data to gain some insight into this. Yet criticism and blame are common among people in the developed countries.

Open education and electronic technology:-

In 2012, the modern use of electronic educational technology (also called e-learning) had grown at 14 times the rate of traditional learning. Open education is fast growing to become the dominant form of education, for many reasons such as its efficiency and results compared to traditional methods. Cost of education has been an issue throughout history and a major political issue in most countries today. Online courses often can be more expensive than face-to-face classes. Out of 182 colleges surveyed in 2009 nearly half said tuition for online courses was higher than for campus based ones. Many large university institutions are now starting to offer free or almost free full courses such as Harvard, MIT and Berkeley teaming up to form ed X. Other universities offering open education are Stanford, Princeton, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Edinburgh, U. Penn, U. Michigan, U. Virginia, U. Washington, and Cal tech. It has been called the biggest change in the way we learn since the printing press. Despite favorable studies on effectiveness, many people may still desire to choose traditional campus education for social and cultural reasons.

Education system

Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: central, state, and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution, free and compulsory education is provided as a fundamental right to children between the ages of 6 and 14. The ratio of public schools to private schools in India is 7:5.

India has made progress in terms of increasing the primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately three-quarters of the population in the 7-10 age groups, by 2011. India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to its economic development. Much of the progress, especially in higher education and scientific research, has been credited to various public institutions. While enrollment in higher education has increased steadily over the past decade, reaching a Gross Enrollment Ratio of 24% in 2013, there still remains a significant distance to catch up with tertiary education enrollment levels of developed nations, a challenge that will be necessary to overcome in order to continue to reap a demographic dividend from India's comparatively young population.

The central and most state boards uniformly follow the "10+2+3" pattern of education. In this pattern, study of 12 years is done in schools or in colleges, and then 3 years of graduation for a bachelor's degree. The first 10 years is further subdivided into 5 years of primary education, 3 years of upper primary, followed by 2 years of high school. This pattern originated from the recommendation of the Education Commission of 1964–66.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is the apex body for curriculum related matters for school education in India. The NCERT provides support and technical assistance to a number of schools in India and oversees many aspects of enforcement of education policies. Other curriculum bodies governing school education system are:

   

Primary education:-

There have been several efforts to enhance quality made by the government. The District Education Revitalization Programme (DERP) was launched in 1994 with an aim to universalize primary education in India by reforming and vitalizing the existing primary education system. 85% of the DERP was funded by the central government and the remaining 15% was funded by the states. The DERP, which had opened 1.6 lakh new schools including 84,000 alternative education schools delivering alternative education to approximately 35 lakh children, was also supported by UNICEF and other international programmes. In January 2016, Kerala became the 1st Indian state to achieve 100% primary education through its literacy programme Athulyam.However, due to a shortage of resources and lack of political will, this system suffers from massive gaps including high pupil to teacher ratios, shortage of infrastructure and poor levels of teacher training. Figures released by the Indian government in 2011 show that there were 58, 16,673 elementary school teachers in India. As of March 2012 there were 21, 27,000 secondary school teachers in India. Education has also been made free for children for 6 to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.The Indian government lays emphasis on primary education, also referred to as elementary education, to children aged 6 to 14 years old. The Indian government has also banned child labor in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. However, both free education and the ban on child labor are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and social conditions.80% of all recognized schools at the elementary stage are government run or supported, making it the largest provider of education in the country

Secondary education:-

UGC, NCERT and CBSE directives state qualifying ages for candidates who wish to take board exams. Those at least 15 years old by the 30th of May for a given academic year are eligible to appear for Secondary board exams, and those 17 by the same date are eligible to appear for Higher Secondary certificate board exams. It further states that upon successful completion of Higher Secondary, one can apply to higher education under UGC control such as Engineering, Medical, and Business Administration. Secondary education covers children aged 12 to 18, a group comprising 8.85 crore children according to the 2001 Census of India. The final two years of secondary is often called Higher Secondary (HS), Senior Secondary, or simply the "+2" stage. The two halves of secondary education are each an important stage for which a pass certificate is needed, and thus are affiliated by central boards of education under HRD ministry, before one can pursue higher education, including college or professional courses.

A significant feature of India's secondary school system is the emphasis on inclusion of the disadvantaged sections of the society. Professionals from established institutes are often called to support in vocational training. Another feature of India's secondary school system is its emphasis on profession based vocational training to help students attain skills for finding a vocation of his/her choosing. A significant new feature has been the extension of SSA to secondary education in the form of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.

The state government boards: Most of the state governments have one "State board of secondary education". However, some states like Andhra Pradesh have more than one. Also the union territories do not have a board, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Pondicherry, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep; Daman & Diu share the services with a larger state.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) which conducts examinations at the 10th and 12th standards.

The Council of Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE). CISCE conducts three examinations, namely, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE - Class/Grade 10); The Indian School Certificate (ISC - Class/Grade 12) and the Certificate in Vocational Education (CVE - Class/Grade 12).

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) conducts two examinations, namely, Secondary Examination and Senior Secondary Examination (All India) and also some courses in Vocational Education.

International schools affiliated to the International Baccalaureate Programme and/or the Cambridge International Examinations.

Islamic Madras schools, whose boards are controlled by local state governments, or autonomous, or affiliated with Darul Uloom Deoband.

Autonomous schools like Woodstock School, The Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education Puducherry, Auroville,Patha Bhavan and Ananda Marga Gurukula.

International schools, which offer 10th and 12th standard examinations under the International Baccalaureate, or the Cambridge Senior Secondary Examination systems.