By Captain Unni Krishnan,
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Schools in India offer both Indian and International syllabi some of which are:
- National – CBSE - Central Board of Secondary Education.
- ICSE- Indian Certificate of Secondary Education
- State Board- Approximately 30 State Boards.
- International – Cambridge University Programs.
- IBO Programs and a few others such as – Ontario from Canada, EDEXCEL- From UK.
Why and how CBSE ?
- Started by the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) with the aim to operate a chain of central schools (Kendriya Vidyalaya) that could cater to government employees who are in transferable jobs that involve mid year movements.
- A number of private schools have started to offer CBSE since a number of private sector employees are also moving place to place
- The CBSE Syllabus is very structured, highly predictable and, highly controlled
- All national entrance examinations are conducted as per this syllabus.
- A number of changes have been incorporated lately, the prominent decision being to make board examination at the end of Grade -10 optional
- Board exams conducted:
- Grade-10 (Optional )
- Grade-12 (Mandatory)
ICSE – Indian School Certificate Examinations
- An offshoot of the Cambridge IGCSE that existed during the British regime was taken over by the Anglo Indian Board and is now governed by the ‘Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations’.
- Has taken in a lot of structures from the NCERT
- At Grade-10 as of now is the toughest board examination
- Almost similar to CBSE in terms of controls, difference being this is quasi Government.
- Board Exams conducted:
- ICSE – Grade-10
- ISC- Grade-12
- Each state has its own variance from the NCERT syllabus and adds up its local flavor. State government predominantly dictates languages taught and medium of instruction.
- Relatively easy syllabus for board exams.
- Age is another factor that varies from state to state.
- As per the new government directive, many state boards have adopted the NCERT syllabus for Math and Science in Grades 11 and 12. This move is aimed at a common entrance examination for Engineering and Medical colleges which is expected soon.
- Board Exams Conducted:
- Grade-12 (Also called P U- Pre University).
- Some states also conduct a Board Exam in Grade-8.
National Open School- Highly suited for students who have Learning difficulties or who are involved in other activities such as Sports at National / International level. Accepted as equal to other streams.
- IBO- Three levels PYP (Primary Years Program -Up to Grade-5), MYP (Middle Years Program – Grade 6 to 10), IB Diploma (Grade 11 and 12). IBO conducts an External Exam only for Diploma; School assesses other programs. Currently there is a plan for introduction of External exam at Grade-10 level (Completion of MYP).
- Cambridge Program- Currently focused on IGCSE at 9 &10 and A Level at 12 Grade (Also commencing Cambridge Diploma Program at Grade-12).
- Biggest advantage of International curriculum is freedom offered in delivery of curriculum.
- This provides opportunity to school to try innovative approach to help children understand concepts than just follow textbook teaching.
- Assessments can be differentiated and thus learning can be made fun.
While International syllabi are compatible with higher education in India, the biggest limitation of International Education in India is that, as of today it is offered only in the high-end expensive schools.
Boards of Secondary & Senior Secondary Education in India
|State||Board||Year of Establishment||Administrative Set-up|
|Andhra Pradesh||(i) Andhra Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, Hyderabad – 500 001||1953||Part of the State Department of Education|
|(ii) Andhra Pradesh Board of Intermediate Hyderabad – 500 001
|Assam||(i) Assam Board of Secondary Education, Guwahati – 781 021||1962||Statutory|
|(ii) Assam Higher Secondary Education Council, Guwahati – 781 021||1984||Statutory|
|Bihar||(i) Bihar School Examination Board
Patna 800 017
|(ii) Bihar Intermediate Education Council,
Patna 800 001.
|Goa||Goa Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education
Goa- 403 521
|Gujarat||Gujarat Secondary Education Board,
Sector 10-B, Gandhi Nagar – 382 043
|Haryana||Haryana Board of Education,
Hansi Road, Bhiwani – 125021
|Himachal Pradesh||Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education, Dharamsala-176216. Distt. Kangra.||1969||Statutory|
|Jammu & Kashmir||J&K State Board of School Education, Rehari Colony, Jammu- 180 005 (Nov.– April)
Lalmandi, Srinagar 190 005 (May–Oct.)
|Karnataka||(i) Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Bangalore 560 003||1966||Part of the State Deptt. of Education|
|(ii) Karnataka Board of the Pre-University Education
|1970||Part of the State Deptt. of Pre-University Education|
|Kerala||Kerala Board of Public Examinations, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 012||1949||Part of the State Deptt. of Education|
|Maharashtra||Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Shivajinagar, Pune 411 010.
Home Page : http://www.mah.nic.in/msec
|Madhya Pradesh||Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, Bhopal -462 011||1959||Statutory|
|Manipur||(i) Manipur Board of Secondary Education,
Imphal – 795 001
|(ii) Manipur Council of Higher Secondary Education, Imphal – 795 001||1992||Statutory|
|Meghalaya||Meghalaya Board of School Education, Meghalaya-794 102||1973||Statutory|
|Mizoram||Mizoram Board of School Education
|Nagaland||Nagaland Board of School Education, Post Box, 98, Kohima -767 001||1974||Statutory|
|Orissa||(i) Orissa Board of Secondary Education, Bajrakabati Road, Cuttack -753 001||1965||Statutory|
|(ii) Orissa Council of Higher Secondary Education, Bhubaneswar – 75||1955||Statutory|
|Punjab||Punjab School Education Board,
Mohali -160 059
|Rajasthan||Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education,
Ajmer- 305 001
|Tamil Nadu||(i) Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education, Department of Govt. Examinations
Chennai- 600 006
|1908||Part of the State Deptt. of Education|
|(ii) Tamil Nadu Board of Higher Secondary Education, College Road,
|1982||Part of the State Deptt. of Education|
|Tripura||Tripura Board of Secondary Education
Agartala, Tripura West -799 006.
|U.P.||U.P. Board of High School & Intermediate Education, Allahabad – 211 001||1922||Autonomous Body under the Deptt. of Education|
|West Bengal||(i) West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, 77/2, Park Street, Calcutta -700 016||1951 (Reconstituted in 1964)||Statutory|
|(ii) West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education
Calcutta- 700 091
|1929 (Reconstituted in 1962||Statutory|
|All-India Boards||(i) Central Board of Secondary Education 2, Community Centre, Shiksha Kendra, Preet Vihar, Delhi- 110 092
Tel.# 91-11-2249602, 2249628
Home page: http://www.cbse.nic.in
|Autonomous body under the Government of India|
|(ii) Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations, Pragati House, 47/48, Nehru Place,
New Delhi – 110 019.
Home Page : http://www.cisce.org
|(iii) National Open School
A-38, Kailash Colony, New Delhi-110 048
Home Page : www.nos.org
|1989||Autonomous body under the Government of India|
About the Author:
Captain Unni Krishnan is a Founder and Director of LearnHive; he is also the Founder and Managing Trustee of Primus Public School, Bangalore. Prior to that he was the Founder and Trustee of Indus International School. At Primus, he has been instrumental in implementation of new teaching pedagogies. He has seamlessly integrated the International and Indian syllabi to help prepare students for higher studies both in India and Overseas. Capt. is a ‘Sword of Honor’ from the prestigious Officers Training Academy of the Indian Army.
Learnhive is a leading provider of technology based learning solutions for K12 students, parents, and tutors. Our vision to become the #1 trusted learning source for you. Our goal is to make curriculum based learning more effective and fun. We specialize in providing after school learning solutions for students and parents. Our flagship product, Personal Concept Tutor™ gives students the flexibility to learn concepts at their own pace using a wide variety of materials and resources suited for their individual needs. Our technology is available in computers, laptops, tablets and smart phones to make learning more fun, interactive and available to students anywhere and at anytime. Click here to signup for free to access the learning materials (lessons and exercises) for your children. As a parent you will receive regular progress reports, useful information related learning and educational boards.
PS: I hope that you found the most definitive guide related to educational boards in India very useful. We thank you for submitting your questions and making this blog one of the most popular blogs. Due to the high volume of questions that are being submitted, we would require you to Register (Click Here) for free at Learnhive before submitting a question. After you sign up, please feel free to submit questions using the form at the end of this blog; Captain will answer them in a timely manner.