CBSE or ICSE?

Gauri Kohli, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, June 07, 2011 Email to Author First Published: 11:56 IST(7/6/2011) Last Updated: 09:32 IST(8/6/2011)

share more...
0 Comments
email print

Satya Pandey, a finance executive at the Colombia Embassy, was some years ago in a dilemma over the schooling of her sons. The choice was between CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) and ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education)-affiliated schools and she didnt know which one to opt fo r. After much thought, like most parents in India, Pandey admitted the children to a CBSE school in Gurgaon. She was happy with the standards of education, but at the end of it, felt the learning and grooming process could have been more thorough. Both boys were then enrolled at The Shri Ram School, Aravali, which offers the ICSE curriculum. I was happy with the CBSE teaching methodologies but felt that the ICSE curriculum is more thorough as it includes detailed study of subjects. My sons can now absorb more knowledge, are consistent with studies and also have a good understanding of English, says Pandey. Her elder son, Utkarsh, a Class 12 student, also liked the transition. It does not encourage selective study or rote learning. The fact that we are given more choice of subjects is an advantage. Im currently studying English literature and language, physics, chemistry, economics and environmental studies, he says. Another student, Rishibha Kawatra, an arts stream topper from The Shri Ram School, feels lucky to have been in the ICSE system I joined The Shri Ram School in Class 8 after I came back from Dubai where I studied at the Dubai College that followed the IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) curriculum. I preferred ICSE as it was more suited to the way I study. The fact that whatever we learn is application- based and we get a choice of subjects much earlier as compared to the CBSE, makes it more student-friendly. Kawatra is among several students who feel ICSE curriculum beats CBSE in many ways. We dont have to study from a set of textbooks. We can refer to any book but have to learn the topics prescribed by the Board. We also have a lot of combinations that we can opt for such as computer science, environmental science and even interior design, adds Kawatra. On the other hand, the CBSE curriculum does not provide the students such luxuries. However, the fact that tutors who can help students with the CBSE syllabus are more accessible makes life easier for CBSE students. They can easily find tutors for various subjects throughout the year, be it private tutors or group coaching centres, whereas in the case of ICSE, its much tougher due to a lower number of schools following this curriculum. But in cities such as Mumbai and Bangalore,

ICSE tutors are in abundance. Things are now beginning to change for students who study at schools who follow the CBSE format. The introduction of the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) scheme by the CBSE in 2009 has allowed them to learn beyond books. We take part in activities round the year and give equal emphasis to studies. Recent initiatives by the CBSE such as the decision to introduce Mandarin, hospitality, media studies etc as subjects at senior secondary level makes the CBSE curriculum unique, says Aakansha Ratan, a student of Manav Sthali School, New Rajinder Nagar. The CBSE pattern till a few years ago focused on giving scores just on the basis of what a child learnt in class. However, this has changed in the last few years. The CBSEs ability to reform itself in terms of curriculum and evaluation has taken it to new heights. Not much importance was given to personality development but now students are given plenty of opportunities to nurture talent in different areas, which makes it more vibrant, says Ashok Pandey, principal, Ahlcon International School, Mayur Vihar. On whether its easy for ICSE students to compete on the same platform with their CBSE counterparts when it comes to higher studies, Monica Sagar, vice-principal of The Shri Ram School, DLF Phase 3, Gurgaon, says, It is as difficult as it is for the CBSE students to get into Delhi University, which, at the end of the day, is a number-crunching game because of the unreasonable cut-offs. Many students prefer to venture abroad to pursue higher studies due to this. But we have a large percentage of students making it to premier colleges in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Professional courses have common entrance tests for which all students both CBSE and ICSE take special coaching, she says. Since ICSE offers a lot of choices in terms of the subjects, does studying so many subjects stress the students out? At times it does get stressful but we enjoy the rigorous pattern that helps us to prepare for higher studies, adds Utkarsh. With both curricula having their own pros and cons, its a win-win situation for students.

more from this section

y y y
Win without cheating Will you sacrifice honesty for a seat? Your CAT scorecard
more

share more...
0 Comments
email print

comment Note: By posting your comments here you agree to the terms and conditions of www.hindustantimes.com

y y y y o

Disqus Like Dislike

Login

Add New Comment

Govt boost for Kannada in CBSE

Mathang Seshagiri, TNN Jan 18, 2011, 02.24am IST

BANGALORE: If you plan to send your children to a CBSE or ICSE school, be prepared to make sure they can read and write Kannada. Bombarded by applications from schools seeking affiliation to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the Karnataka government is putting in place stringent rules to control the language policy, admission process and fee structure while granting no-objection certificates (NOC).

Ads by Google

y y

Admission CounsellingAdmission counseling services for Jan/Feb/July/Nov, 2012

Intakeswww.thechopras.com/overseas/ India's Largest IB SchoolOakridge International School Now in Bengaluruwww.oakridge.in Despite a visible increase in demand for English-medium education, the government has drafted rules which make it mandatory for schools to implement the state language policy. In schools wanting affiliation to CBSE/CISEC, the medium of instruction should be Kannada or mother tongue of the child between Classes 1 to 5. Even after getting affiliation to central boards, the school should compulsorily teach Kannada as a subject.

While seeking NOC from the primary and secondary education department, schools must give an undertaking that the admission to pre-primary classes will be done only in April. During fee revision, they must consult parents, and there's no room for mid-session hikes. The draft rules are in the public domain and schools and parents can air their views. It's the first time the government has framed rules for granting NOCs to schools seeking affiliation to other boards.

While starting pre-primary schools, the management has to obtain prior permission according to the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Classification and Registration) Rules, 1997. To ensure ample play space for kids, schools should have at least 1 acre of land in metropolitan areas and 2 acres elsewhere. A certificate from fire authorities and audit reports for three years are also a must. The NOC will cost schools Rs 1 lakh and will be valid for two years.
Ads by Google

Montessori ApproachAt Amiown Preschool The Caring Preschoolwww.Amiown.com

Contact
Central Board of Secondary Education "Shiksha Kendra", 2, Community Centre, Preet Vihar, Delhi - 110 301.
Chairman Vineet Joshi, IAS Tel. 91-11-22023737, 22467263 Email: chmn-cbse@nic.in Tel. 91-11-22549627, 22549628 Email: secy-cbse@nic.in

Affiliation, Dr (Mrs) Veera Gupta Administration and Secretary & CVO Scholarship Matters Examination Matters AIEEE M C Sharma, Controller of Examination Pitam Singh Director (Special Exams) Dr Sadhana Parashar Director (Training)

Tel. 91-11-22515828 Email: mcsharma.cbse@nic.in Tel. 91-11-22235774 Fax: 91-11-22235775 Email: pitams.cbse@nic.in Tel. 91-11-23212603,23234324 Fax. 91-11-23234324 Email: sadhanap.cbse@nic.in

Training

EDUSAT & Vocational Education,

N Nagaraju Officiating Director (EDUSAT)

Tel. 91-11-23238361 Email: jsctet.cbse@gmail.com

Academic Matters N Nagaraju & CTET Director (Academic) Head Quarters Computer Centre B.M Gupta Head (Computer Centre)

Tel . 91-11-23220153 Email : director.cbse@nic.in Tel . 91-11-22542693 Email : bmgupta.cbse@nic.in

I.T. and Website

Dr. Antriksh Johri Joint Secretary (IT) Kamal Kumar Khandelwal Programmer Sameer Datta Deputy Secretary (IT) Mrs Rama Sharma Public Relations Officer/ Public Information Officer Emannuel Joseph Deputy Secretary (AIPMT) Jaiprakash Chaturvedi Assistant Secretary (CTET) Shyam Lal Assistant Secretary (AIEEE) Dr B N Singh Library and Information Officer 011-22509256-59 Ext. 218 Email: scholarship.cbse@nic.in Tel. 91-11-22509256 - 59 ROD & AIEEE: 91-11-22239177-80

Tel. 91-11-22239177-80
Email: antriksh.cbse@nic.in Email: kamalcbse@gmail.com

Online Affiliation and Affiliation website Public Relations

Tel: 011-22520242, 22467774 Email: cbse.aff@nic.in sdutta.cbse@nic.in

Tel. 91-11-22440083 Telefax. 91-11-22440083 Email: ramas.cbse@nic.in Tel. 91-11-22059683 Email: josephe.cbse@nic.in Tel. 91-11-23238361 Email: asctet@cbse.gov.in Tel. 91-11-22246095

AIPMT

CTET

AIEEE

LIBRARY

Tel. 91-11-22521081

Scholarship Matters General Enquiry

Regional Offices
Regional Officer: P.I. Sabu Tel: 011-22248882, 85
Regional Office Central Board of Secondary Education, PS-1-2, Institutional Area, I.P.Extn. Patparganj, Delhi110 092. NCT of Delhi, Foreign Schools Tel:91-11-22239177-80 Fax: 91-11-22248990 rodelhi.cbse@nic.in

Regional Officer I/c: D T S Rao Tel: 044-26162213-14, 26161100

Regional Office Central board of Secondary Education, Plot No. 1630 A, "J"

Tamil Nadu,Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu

Tel. 91-44-26162214 /26162213 Fax:91-41-26162212 rochennai.cbse@nic.in

Block, 16th Main Road Anna Nagar West, Chennai600040.

Regional Officer: K K Choudhary Tel: 0361-2229992-94, 85

Regional Office Central Board of Secondary Education, House No.10, Seuj Sarani, Lakhimi Nagar, Hatigaon, Guwahati-781006

Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram.

Telfax:91-361-2229992, 2229995

roguwahati.cbse@nic.in

Regional Officer: U C Bodh Tel: 0145-2627460, 2629928

Regional Office Central Board of Secondary Education, Todarmal Marg, Ajmer-305 030

Rajasthan,Gujarat, Madhya Tel:91-145-2627451/2627139 Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli Fax:91-145-2421543 roajmer.cbse@nic.in

Regional Officer: R. J. Khanderao Tel: 0172-2585193

Regional Office Central Board of Secondary Education, Sector- 5 , Panchkula 134109 (Haryana)

Haryana,U.T.of Chandigarh, Tel: 91-172-2585193/2583547 Punjab, J&K, Himachal Pradesh. Fax:91-172-2585163 ropanchkula.cbse@nic.in

Regional Officer: G L Mittal Tel: 0532-2407970, 2407710

Regional Office Central Board of Secondary Education, 35 B, Civil Station, M.G. Marg , Civil Lines, Allahabad-211 015

Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal

Tel:91-532-2407970-72 Fax:91-532-2408977 roallahabad.cbse@nic.in

Regional Officer: S U Sorte Tel: 0612-2332008

Regional Office Central Board of Secondary Education, 8th Floor, BSFC Building, Fraser Road, Patna-800 001.

Bihar, Jharkhand New Regional Office opened

Tele Fax:91-612-2332248 Tel: 2332008

ropatna.cbse@nic.in

Regional Officer: J P Garg Tel: 0674-2547312

West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh New Regional Office opened

Computer Section Administration

91-6742548412 91-6742548512

Regional Office Central Board of Secondary Education, 6th Floor, Alok Bharti Building, Shaheed Nagar, Bhubaneswar

Examination Asstt Secretary AB Cell

91-6742548612 91-6742548212 91-6742548712

robhubaneshwar.cbse@nic.in

Branch offices for National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

ashmeet | 04 13th, 2009

The National Institute of Open Schooling or NIOS was originally called as the National Open School. It was established in the year November1989 and the main aim of establishment was the pursuance of the National Policy of Education of 1986. The main headquarters of the NIOS are located in Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The complete address of the headquarters and also the branch addresses are given below: NIOS Headquarters: National Institute of Open Schooling A-24/25, Institutional Area, Sector 62, NOIDA Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh 201 309 Telephone No. 95120 2402890, 18001809393 NIOS Regional Offices:

NIOS Delhi office A 31, Institutional Area, Sector 62, NOIDA Distt Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh Ph (O): 0120-2404914/2404915 Fax: 0120-2404916 E-mail: rcdelhi@nos.org

( for areas in East Delhi, North Delhi, North East Delhi, North West Delhi, Jhajjar, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad)

NIOS Delhi Office-II A 31, Institutional Area, Sector 62, NOIDA Distt Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh Ph (O): 0120-2404914/2404915 Fax: 0120-2404916 E-mail: rcdelhi@nos.org ( for South Delhi, West Delhi, South West Delhi, Central Delhi, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad)

y NIOS Hyderabad office

House No. 17-26, Sree Nagar Colony, Road No. 5, Dilsukh Nagar, Hyderabad (AP) Ph.: (O) 040-24162859, Fax : 091-040-24060712 E-mail : rchyderabad@nos.org (for areas Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka)
y NIOS Guwahati Office

15 Nilomoni Bhawan, 1st Floor, Nilomani Pukhan Road, Christian Basti, Guwahati781008 (Assam) Ph.: (O) 0361-2340497, 2343964, 2343588 Fax : 0361-2343585 E-mail: rcguwahati@nos.org (for areas Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura)
y NIOS Pune Office

C/o. Indian Institute of Education, 128/2, J.P. Naik Road, Kothrud, Pune-411029 (Maharashtra) Ph.: (O) 020-25444667, 25439763 E-mail:rcpune@nos.org (for areas Maharashtra, Goa Daman & Diu)
y NIOS Chandigarh Office

YMCA Complex,Sector-11C, Chandigarh 160011, Ph.: (O) 0172-2744915, 3950979, Fax : 0172-2744952 E-mail:rcchandigarh@nos.org {For areas Haryana (excluding Faridabad, Gurgaon & Jhajjar), Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh}
y NIOS Kolkata Office 10/1/H, Diamond Harbour Road, Kolkata -700027 (WB) Ph.: (O) 033-24797714, Fax.: 033-24797707 E-mail:rckolkata@nos.org

(For areas Sikkim, West Bengal and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Subcentre Bhubaneswar)

Bhubaneswar Sub Centre, Part of Kolkata Region for Financial and other related matters 360/10 Shishu Vihar, Patia, Bhubaneswar, Orissa Ph: 0674-2740208 (For Orissa)
y NIOS Patna Office

alit Bhawan, Ground Floor, Patna -800001 (Bihar) Ph.: (O) 0612-2545051, Fax: 0612-2545470 E-mail:rcpatna@nos.org (for Bihar & Jharkhand)
y NIOS Kochi Office

34/2470 C, 2nd floor, Mamangalam, Palarivattom PO, Kochi- 682025, Kerala Ph.: (O) 0484-2335714, Fax: 0484-2335533 E-mail:rckochi@nos.org (for Tamilnadu, Kerala and Pondicherry)

NIOS Jaipur Office D-11,12, Roop Vihar colony, Mohan Marg, Opp. Karali Garden, New Sangner Road, Sodala, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302006 Ph.: (O) 0141 2723029, 2720601 E-mail:rcjaipur@nos.org (for Rajasthan and Gujarat)

NIOS Bhopal Office Manas Bhavan, Shymla Hills, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Ph : 2660331,2661842 E-mail:rcbhopal@nos.org (for Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh)

y NIOS Allahabad Office

19/17 Kasturba Gandhi Marg,Allahabad 211002

Ph : (O) 0532-2548149, Fax : 0532-2548154 E-mail:rcallahabad@nos.org (for UttarPradesh & sub Centre Dehradun)
y NIOS Dehradun Office

69/106, Niranjanpur, Opp. I.T.I, Dehradun 248001 Ph: 0135-2629166, 2623929 E-mail:rcdehradun@nos.org (for Uttrakhand, Meerut, Bagpat, Saharanpur, Muzzafarnagar, Moradabad & JP Nagar (Amroha), distt. of UP) Reference: www.nos.org