Bharat SainiLast Updated on September 16, 2017 by Bharat Saini
India has been gifted with a young population which if empowered by an educational system, under a well-structured national policy to endow its youth, with multi-dimensional intelligence with the objective of developing superior human beings, would be assets to shape the country’s development, it should:
- Imbibe Emotional Intelligence to develop team spirit & rational risk-taking attitude;
- Inculcate Moral Intelligence to blend their personal ambitions with National goals;
- Cultivate Social Intelligence to defend civic rights of the weak, defend gender equality & develop courage to fight injustice;
- Develop Spiritual Intelligence;
- Blossom awareness about Environmental Intelligence;
- Crave for Innovation; besides
- Developing their Cognitive Intelligence to become original thinkers.
Education starts with the School that plays an important role in shaping early development stages of the child and his or her exposure to the kind of education system that we have. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE)/Indian School Certificate (ISC) are two of the most recognised boards of education in India, besides International Baccalaureate (IB), International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and Boards of various State Governments. Although all the boards provide excellent quality of education that is admirable yet each board is unique from the point of view of its functionality, curriculum, abilities and standards. Each student has different aptitude levels and aspirations. Choosing the right board of education is integral because it plays an important role in the student’s future.
CBSE conducts two main examinations – All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE) in Grade-X and All India Senior School Certificate Examination (AISSCE) in Grade – XII. CBSE is approved by the Govt. of India and affiliates a large number of schools including Kendriya Vidyalayas/Central Schools and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in India and it is recognised by NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training):
- CBSE introduced Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) scheme in 2009 that has allowed students to learn beyond books.
- CBSE’s ability to reform itself in terms of curriculum and evaluation has taken it to new heights.
- Importance is given to personality development as well and students are given plenty of opportunities to nurture talent in different areas, which makes it more vibrant.
- Students take part in activities round the year and equal emphasis is given to studies.
- CBSE is more popular in India and it is easy to find a school even if you shift base to a different city and suits best for parents having transferable jobs.
- CBSE has both English and Hindi as medium of instructions and approves both regular and private candidates.
- CBSE believes in interactive teaching than one-way class lectures and emphasise on learning through experience.
- Its teaching methodologies are good.
- CBSE syllabus has more emphasis on Science subjects and Mathematics.
- The syllabus is more suitable for major competitive examinations like, NDA (National Defence Academy), IIT-JEE (Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examinations), NEET National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (UG). NEET (UG)-2017 is also to be conducted by CBSE, for admission to MBBS/BDS Courses in India in Medical/Dental Colleges run with the approval of Medical Council of India/Dental Council of India under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India except for the institutions established through an Act of Parliament e.g. AIIMS and JIPMER Puducherry. (All India Pre Medical Test) follow the CBSE pattern. CBSE is the best choice for students who want to pursue a career in medical or engineering.
- CBSE offers more talent search examinations and scholarships for students and the volume of syllabus is comparatively less.
ICSE is an examination conducted in Grade X and the board covers education from Grade I to Grade X, ISC is an examination conducted in Grade XII and the board covers standard XI and XII. Both ICSE & ISC are regulated by the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE).
- CISCE focuses on the child’s overall growth.
- Their learning and grooming process is more thorough.
- The syllabus is comprehensive, structured that aims to give practical knowledge and build analytical skills in students.
- CISCE focuses on detailed study of each subject and does not encourage selective study or rote learning.
- Students can absorb more knowledge, are consistent with studies and also have a good understanding of English.
- The learning is application based and students also have flexibility of selecting specific subjects.
- CISCE considers internal assessments to be very crucial for a child’s development and practical test results are aggregated with the overall scores.
- CISCE also believes in interactive teaching than one-way class lectures and emphasise on learning through experience.
- CISCE syllabus and teaching aids are suitable for students opting for Management streams.
- CISCE is recognised by many foreign education systems. ICSE/ISC certificates are accepted by most of the schools and colleges all around the world. It is recommended for parents those who have to move in different countries.
- CISCE students perform well in scholarship examinations which are based on English as the syllabus is more attuned to the world education standards. A career in English literature or language is best suited for students.
IB (International Baccalaureate) is an international education foundation (Geneva) offering educational programmes in three levels/grades for children between 3-19 years of age. And IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) is an internationally used, specialised English language curriculum. It was developed by the University of Cambridge International Examinations in the 1980s. There is rising trend of these two international boards gaining popularity with more number of schools being associated with them, with Maharashtra having maximum IB and IGCSE schools along with Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana:
- International schools provide students an option to select subjects (science, humanities, languages, mathematics and so on) according to their preference and aptitude.
- Curriculum based on application and experimentation.
- International Boards recognized by most of the Universities of the world.
- Recognized by UNESCO, Council of Europe, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)
- Best option if parents are NRI, or are planning to move abroad.
- Students will get an advantage while applying in International Graduate Schools.
- However, Students from international schools find it difficult to match with the high scores in the selection process while applying in Indian Universities; and
- Students are unable to cope up with the high levels of Indian education boards and it becomes critical to get admission into a science-based degree programme in India.
- Moreover there is a timing mismatch between the Indian entrance examinations and final exams of most of the international boards.
State Boards of every State Government impart Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary or Intermediate Education in its respective state. Examination Pattern is SSC (Secondary School Certificate) 10 Board Exams; HSC (Higher School Certificate) or Intermediate 12 Board Exams:
- Favorable for parents without transferable jobs.
- Easily available textbook.
- Subsidized moderate Fees
- More reserved seats within the state recognized colleges
Parents should be very particular in selection of a suitable board for their child as that plays an important role in shaping early development stages of the child and level of exposure that they will get. Children should be educated in an environment which is conducive to their overall growth.
