INDONESIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL YANGON

The Heart of an Indonesian Community Abroad

At its core, IISY is a community school: founded by and for Indonesians living in Myanmar, it has grown to become a genuinely multinational learning environment. Approximately 400 students from around 14 nationalities currently attend the school, with Indonesian families forming the majority of the student body.

Who Attends IISY?

The school's primary audience is Indonesian expatriate families — diplomats, business professionals, and their children — who require continuity with Indonesian educational standards while living abroad. However, the school also welcomes students from Myanmar and other countries, creating a diverse classroom environment that reflects Yangon's international character.

According to school listings, students range in age from approximately 3 to 16 years old, encompassing early childhood through to lower secondary education. The school operates on a co-educational basis.

Community and Cultural Life

Beyond academics, IISY serves as a cultural hub for the Indonesian community in Myanmar. The school facilitates connections between Indonesian families, supports cultural events, and helps maintain Indonesian language and traditions among diaspora children. This cultural role is considered an integral part of the school's mission, as described in school-affiliated publications.

Staff and Staffing Profile

The school employs approximately 50 local teaching staff, reflecting a commitment to employing qualified educators within the Myanmar context. The presence of a full-time medical doctor on campus underscores the school's awareness of its responsibilities toward the wellbeing of an international community that may have limited access to external healthcare services.

A Close-Knit Environment

With 400 students across multiple year levels, IISY is a relatively small school by international standards. This scale can foster a close-knit, family-oriented community where students and teachers know each other well — a quality that many expatriate families specifically seek when selecting a school abroad.

Origins and Evolution

The Indonesian International School Yangon (IISY) has its roots in the longstanding Indonesian diplomatic presence in Myanmar. Originally operating under the name Sekolah Indonesia Duta Teruna Yangon, the school served primarily the children of Indonesian diplomats and expatriates stationed in the country.

Around 2004, the school's leadership began a deliberate transformation, shifting from a purely Indonesian national curriculum toward a hybrid model known as the 'Kurikulum Indonesia Plus' (Indonesia Plus Curriculum). This transition culminated in the school's formal recognition as an international school in 2005, the year from which its current identity as IISY dates.

The Indonesia Plus Model

The Indonesia Plus curriculum represents a careful balancing act: retaining the core structure of Indonesia's national educational framework — including compulsory subjects such as Civic Education, Religious Studies, and Bahasa Indonesia — while layering on internationally recognised content and pedagogical approaches consistent with British-style education (Cambridge IGCSE). This dual framework means students graduate with both familiarity with Indonesian national standards and exposure to internationally benchmarked academic content.

Growth and Community

Since its 2005 relaunch, IISY has grown to serve approximately 400 students representing around 14 nationalities. While Indonesian families remain the majority of the student body, the school has steadily attracted students from Myanmar, and various other countries whose families are part of Yangon's international business and diplomatic community.

The school operates from a single campus in Ahlone Township, a centrally located district of Yangon, and continues to be supported by the Indonesian Embassy and Ministry of Education. This governmental backing gives IISY a degree of institutional stability uncommon among privately operated international schools in Myanmar.

Cultural Diplomacy

Beyond its academic mission, IISY has always played a role in Indonesia's cultural diplomacy in Southeast Asia. The school serves as a venue for Indonesian cultural events, language promotion, and community gatherings, reinforcing ties between the Indonesian diaspora and host country Myanmar.

A Distinctive Curricular Approach

IISY's academic identity is defined by its Indonesia Plus curriculum, a model that distinguishes it from both purely international schools and standard Indonesian schools abroad. Rather than adopting a wholesale international framework such as the IB or a purely British curriculum, IISY has crafted a hybrid approach that aims to serve its predominantly Indonesian student population while maintaining internationally competitive academic standards.

Core Subjects and Language of Instruction

English serves as the primary language of instruction across most academic subjects including Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Bahasa Indonesia is taught as a compulsory subject throughout all year levels, ensuring that Indonesian students maintain fluency in their mother tongue while developing strong English proficiency. Myanmar language is also offered as a subject, acknowledging the school's host country environment.

The curriculum includes a broad range of subjects:

• Core academics: English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
• Languages: Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese, French, Myanmar
• Humanities: Civic Education, Religious Studies
• Arts and Technology: Art & Craft, Design, Photoshop/Digital Design, Music, Computer/IT
• Physical Education and Sports: PE, Baseball, Futsal, Table Tennis, Karate

International Benchmarking

The school aligns its academic content with British educational standards, with Cambridge IGCSE cited as the relevant international framework. This positions IISY students to transition into internationally recognised secondary and university pathways should they move from Myanmar.

Enrichment and Extracurricular Learning

Beyond core academics, IISY offers an impressive breadth of enrichment activities including violin, guitar, Coding classes, Manga art, and Chinese language classes. These reflect an institutional commitment to holistic development that extends well beyond the classroom, even for a school of relatively modest size (approximately 400 students).

Class Environment

With approximately 50 teaching staff serving around 400 students, the implied student-to-teacher ratio of approximately 8:1 suggests a reasonably small-group learning environment, which may support more individualised attention than larger international schools in the region.

Location and Setting

IISY occupies a single campus at No. 100, Lower Kyee Myin Daing Road, Saw Yan Paing (East) Ward, Ahlone Township, Yangon. Ahlone is a well-established, centrally located township in Yangon, making the school accessible from many parts of the city by taxi or private vehicle — the dominant modes of transport in a city where formal public transit remains limited.

Facilities Overview

Despite its relatively modest scale, IISY's campus is described as offering a comprehensive set of facilities for its student community:

• Indoor Sports Hall: A covered gymnasium available for physical education classes and sports activities including futsal, karate, and table tennis.
• Outdoor Playground: A dedicated outdoor play area catering especially to younger students.
• Science Laboratory: A dedicated lab space supporting hands-on science education.
• Computer/IT Room: Technology-equipped learning space for Computer and IT classes, including digital design and Photoshop instruction.
• Art Room: A dedicated space for art, craft, and design activities.
• Canteen: An on-campus dining facility providing meals for students, supporting the school's commitment to healthy nutrition.
• Medical Clinic: An on-site clinic staffed by a resident doctor — a notable provision that distinguishes IISY from many schools of similar size and reflects its duty of care toward an international community.

Technology and Safety

All classrooms are reported to be air-conditioned, a significant comfort consideration given Yangon's tropical climate. The campus also features CCTV surveillance and multimedia classroom equipment including projectors, supporting modern teaching methods.

Campus Atmosphere

The overall atmosphere at IISY is described as a structured, academically-oriented environment with clear attention to student safety and wellbeing. The combination of Indonesian cultural programming, multilingual education, and a range of sports and arts activities creates a campus life that balances academic rigour with personal development.

A Mission Rooted in Cultural Continuity and Global Aspiration

The Indonesian International School Yangon operates with a dual mandate that is uncommon among international schools: to provide high-quality, internationally competitive education while simultaneously nurturing Indonesian cultural identity and language among students living abroad.

As expressed in school-affiliated publications, IISY's mission centres on "providing quality education and nurturing the next generation of global citizens" — with an explicit emphasis on these global citizens also serving as ambassadors for Indonesian culture and values in their host country and beyond.

The Indonesia Plus Philosophy in Practice

The 'Indonesia Plus' curriculum is the philosophical and practical centrepiece of IISY's educational model. It rests on the conviction that internationally minded education need not come at the expense of national and cultural identity. By preserving core Indonesian curriculum elements — including Civic Education, Religious Studies, and Bahasa Indonesia as compulsory subjects — the school ensures that Indonesian students remain rooted in their heritage even as they develop internationally transferable academic skills.

The 'Plus' dimension encompasses the incorporation of British-aligned content (Cambridge IGCSE framework), English as the primary language of instruction, and exposure to global perspectives through a diverse student body representing some 14 nationalities.

Values and Character

While specific published core values are not formally documented in available sources, the school's affiliation with the Indonesian government and its cultural mission suggest an institutional emphasis on values consistent with Indonesian national education principles — including integrity, diligence, discipline, and respect for diversity (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, or unity in diversity).

Holistic Development

IISY's provision of extracurricular activities spanning music (violin, guitar), sports (baseball, futsal, karate, table tennis), technology (coding, Photoshop), and arts (manga, art & craft) reflects a philosophy of holistic education that values creative, physical, and digital development alongside academic achievement. The presence of an on-campus medical clinic and the school's attention to a safe, air-conditioned learning environment further signal a commitment to student wellbeing as a foundation for learning.