Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014

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Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014
Indian School Education System
An Overview

December 2014

www.britishcouncil.in
Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014
Concept
Rittika Chanda Parruck

Write-up
Arijit Ghosh

Value-add
Sasha Sheppard, UKIERI SIP intern
Forty private school heads responding to interviews and survey

© The British Council, India, 2014
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.
We are registered in England as a charity.
Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014
Foreword

The Indian school education system is one of the largest
and most complex in the world. The complexity of the
system stems from India’s need to maintain standard and
uniformity, while giving scope for its diverse culture and
heritage to grow and flourish across the length and breadth
of the country. After independence India has worked hard to
provide access to almost all its young people, but it has only
just begun to focus on aspects of quality and seek to improve
learning outcomes.

This first section of this publication attempts to present an easily understandable
overview of the Indian School Education System to those not already familiar with
it. The last section of the report presents the results of a survey conducted by the
British Council of over 40 private schools on how they go about procuring services
and resources for their schools.

If you have found the information presented here useful and would like us to focus
on other areas and aspects of school education, do write back to us and let us
know. We look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Rob Lynes
Director – British Council India
Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014
Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014
Contents

Executive Summary                                         6

India Demographics                                        8

Overview of the K–12 sector                              10

Segmentation of Indian School Education System           12

Education Boards in India                                18

Comparative Study of CBSE, CISCE, IB and CIE Education
Boards in India                                          20
        Program Structure
        Affiliation Procedures
        Minimum Staff Qualifications

CBSE International (CBSE–i)                              30

Initiatives of Government of India on School Education   32

Indian Education Policy—A Timeline                       34

Apex Educational Organisations                           38

Market Analysis of Private Schools                       40

Appendix: List of Figures and Tables                     44
Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014
6                                                                                    Indian School Education System

     Executive Summary

India, with more than 1.4 million schools and more      regarded as the marker value for achieving
than 230 million enrolments, is home to one of the      2015 target of universal primary education for
largest and complex school education systems in         all children aged 6-10 years in 2007-081. The
the world along with China.                             present education system in India is guided by
                                                        different objectives and goals but is based around
This report on the Indian School Education              the policies of yesteryears. Immediately after
System gives an overall picture into this vast and      independence, a Department of Education under
continuously changing Indian School Education           the Ministry of Human Resource Development
System. It is the first of a series to be published     was set up on August 29, 1947 with a mandate
by the British Council in order to apprise the          to expand the educational facilities. After 1960,
readers of various facets of the school education       the focus on access gradually started moving
system in India. This report, apart from the facts      towards quality. With that vision, the National
and figures surrounding the school sector in            Policy on Education was formulated in 1968. Over
India, also captures the progress of the country        subsequent years, several policies have been
since Independence in the field of education.           formulated by the Indian government to ensure
This report further covers the main government          that the literacy level is gradually increased with
initiatives since independence and also provides        a close monitoring of the quality of education
a comparative study of the major Indian national        as well. Retention of children in schools was of
boards of school education with global ones             paramount importance in the years that followed.
such as the International Baccalaureate and the         With several educational reforms, school drop-out
Cambridge International Examinations.                   rates have registered a decline with the gender
                                                        gap of education also showing a dipping figure2.
This report has several purposes and will be
of interest to a range of audiences who are             More recently, two prominent policies of the
planning to engage themselves with school               Indian government—the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
education in India. For the UK educational              (SSA) in 2001 and the Right of Children to Free
sector, this report will serve as a guiding light       and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 have
to understand Indian school education and its           seen education priorities rise amongst households
progress since Independence. It will also help          and catalysed improvements in educational
the readers in the United Kingdom understand            performance. The mean years of schooling of
the differences between the public and private          the working population (those over 15 years old)
sector. For the hundreds of organisations in the        increased from 4.19 years in 2000 to 5.12 years
United Kingdom trying to expand their business          in 20103. The growth of enrolment in secondary
in the Indian school market, this report will help in   education accelerated from 4.3 per cent per year
understanding the private school market better          during the 1990s to 6.27 per cent per year in the
and the procurement process in general.                 decade ending 2009–10. Education continues to

India has made phenomenal progress since
independence in the field of education. Following       1 Millennium Development Goals India Country Report 2014
the Millennium Development framework, by the            2 According to the 12th Five Year Plan, the gender gap in
                                                        elementary education has declined with the female/male ratio for
measure of the Net Enrolment Ratio (NER), India         years of education reaching over 90 per cent in 2009–10
had crossed the cut-off target of 95 per cent,          3 http://planningcommission.gov.in/hackathon/Education.pdf
Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014
Indian School Education System                                                                                      7

remain a top priority for the Government of India   national average. High pupil–teacher ratio5, lack
with rising budgetary allocations.                  of professionally trained teachers6, and poor
                                                    level of student learning (both scholastic and co-
This report however does not talk about the         scholastic) resulting in weak learning outcomes
challenges faced by the Indian Education            at each stage of education are major challenges
system today. The country’s mean years of           faced by the Indian school education system
schooling at 5.12 years is well below the other     today.
emerging market economies such as China (8.17
years) and Brazil (7.54 years) and significantly    Hope you will enjoy reading about one of the
below the average for all developing countries      largest school education systems in the world and
(7.09 years)4. Steep dropout rates after the        derive benefit out of the same.
elementary level and also at the middle school
level and the increasing enrolment gap from
elementary to higher secondary are matters          4 http://planningcommission.gov.in/hackathon/Education.pdf
                                                    5 DISE 2009–10 figures indicate that 46 per cent of primary and
of great concern. Disadvantaged groups are          34 per cent of upper primary schools have poor pupil–teacher
worse off with the dropout rates for Scheduled      ratios.
                                                    6 There are currently about 0.8 million untrained teachers in India.
Castes and Scheduled Tribes higher than the
Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014
8                                                                                     Indian School Education System

     India Demographics

India has a population of 1.23 billion (second
largest in the world, only behind China 1.35 billion)
as per July 2014 estimates, accounting for 17.5
per cent of the world’s population. It is certainly
one of the youngest countries in the world with
the median age being 27 years.

The age structure7 of India currently is as follows:
 • 0-14 years: 28.5% (male 187,016,401; female
    165,048,695)
 • 15-24 years: 18.1% (male 118,696,540;
   female 105,342,764)
 • 25-54 years: 40.6% (male 258,202,535;                Figure 1: India Demographics – 2014
   female 243,293,143)
                                                        With a population growth rate of 1.25 per cent, India is
 • 55-64 years: 5.8% (male 43,625,668; female           set to become the most populous country by 20308.
   43,175,111)                                          In India, Uttar Pradesh is most populous accounting
 • 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 34,133,175/            for 16 per cent of the country’s total population,
   female 37,810,599)                                   followed by Bihar, Maharashtra, and West Bengal9.

Figure 2: Percentage distribution of state population

7 CIA World Fact book                                   8 Revision of World Population Prospects 2012, released by the UN
                                                        9 http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/data_files/india/Final_
                                                        PPT_2011_chapter3.pdf
Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014
Indian School Education System                                                                             9

According to the 2011 census, literacy rate in India was found to be 74.04 per cent. Among the states,
Kerala leads the literacy rate followed by Goa, Tripura, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, and
Sikkim. The lowest literacy rate in India is seen in the state of Bihar. India has seen a dramatic increase in
the literacy rates over the past decade, when it was registered as 64.83 per cent overall.

The following graph shows the increase in the literacy rates in various states from 2001–201110:

Figure 3: Literacy rates of Indian states

The following figure also depicts that the gap between male and female literacy rates are on the
decline11, thanks to several government measures.

Figure 4: Literacy rate as per gender

With India projected to be providing a substantial amount of workforce to the global platform in near
future, let us assess the all-important school sector (K—12 segment) in the subsequent sections.

10 Data from Census of India 2011
11 http://populationcommission.nic.in/content/933_1_LiteracyRate.aspx
Indian School Education System - An Overview December 2014
10                                                                               Indian School Education System

   Overview of the K—12 sector

The Indian education system has made significant    upper primary levels (for 11-14 year olds) while
progress in recent years. Recognising the           secondary education consists of secondary (for
importance of education in national development,    14-16 year olds) and higher/senior secondary
the Twelfth Plan (2012–2017) places an              levels (for 16-18 year olds).
unprecedented focus on the expansion of
education, on significantly improving the quality   The Eighth All India School Education Survey13
of education imparted and on ensuring that          (AISES) with reference date 30 September
educational opportunities are available to all      2009 corroborates the increased spending and
segments of the society.                            expansion of the school education system in
                                                    India. According to the provisional statistics of
Public spending on education increased rapidly      the survey, there are a total of 1,306,992 schools
during the Eleventh Plan period. Education          in India as compared to 1,030,996 as per the
expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic       Seventh All India School Education Survey14 (AISES)
product (GDP) rose from 3.3 per cent in 2004–05     with reference date 30 September 2002; an
to over 4 per cent in 2011–12. Per capita public    increase of 26.77 per cent.
expenditure on education increased from Rs. 888
in 2004–05 to Rs. 2,985 in 2011–1212. The bulk      Enrolment of students has also seen a gradual
of public spending on education is incurred by      increase over the years. While the Seventh All
the State Governments and their spending grew       India School Education Survey put the enrolment
at a robust rate of 19.6 per cent per year during   figures as 201,457,062; the provisional statistics
the Eleventh Plan. Central government spending      of the Eighth survey has the enrolment figures as
during the same period increased at 25 per cent     226,719,283; an increase of 12.53 per cent.
per year.

According to the 2009 Right to Education Act,       12 http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/11th/11_
schooling is free and compulsory for all children   v2/11v2_ch1.pdf
                                                    13 http://aises.nic.in/surveyoutputs
from the ages of 6 to 14. Elementary education      14 http://www.ncert.nic.in/programmes/education_survey/pdfs/
consists of primary (for 6-10 year olds) and        Enrolment_in_school.pdf

Figure 5: Total number of schools                   Figure 6: Total enrolment in schools
Indian School Education System   11
12                                                                                           Indian School Education System

   Segmentation of Indian School
   Education System

The Indian school education system can be                         • Primary school: First to fifth standard/class/
segmented in either of the following ways:                          grade (for six- to ten-year-olds)
  a. by means of levels of education
                                                                  • Middle school/Upper Primary school: Sixth
  b. by means of ownership of educational                           to eighth standard/class/grade (for 11- to
     institutions                                                   14-year-olds)
  c. by means of educational board affiliations                   • Secondary school: Ninth and tenth standard/
                                                                    class/grade (for 14- to 16-year-olds)
A. Segmentation by means of levels of
                                                                  • Higher secondary or pre-university: 11th and
education
                                                                    12th standard/class/grade (for 16- to 18-year-
                                                                    olds).
The Indian education system is structured as
follows:
                                                                 Pre-school system in India
 • Pre-school: Education at this level is not
                                                                 Various types of pre-primary schools are available
     compulsory. The Montessori system is
                                                                 in India and more children are now attending Pre-
     especially popular at the pre-school level
                                                                 school (NIPCCD, 2006) indicating an increase in
      •   Private play schools: Catering for children            demand for education at this stage. Provision of
          between the ages of 18 months and three                early childhood care and education, especially for
          years.                                                 the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children,
      •   Kindergarten: This is divided into lower               is one of the six Education For All goals15.
          kindergarten (for three- to four-year-olds)
          and upper kindergarten (for four- to five-
          year-olds)                                             15 http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/efa/

Figure 7: Segmentation of Indian schools by means of level of education
Indian School Education System                                                                           13

In India, preschool education is provided by           B. Segmentation by means of ownership of
private schools and government ICDS (Anganwadi)        educational institutions
centres. In addition, there are some ECCE (Early
Childhood Care and Education) centres running          Schools in India are owned either by the
under SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan). According           government (central/ state/ local government
to the estimate given by the Seventh All India         bodies) or by the private sector (individuals, trusts
Education Survey, there are 493,700 pre-primary        or societies). Schools can thus be segmented as:
institutions in India. The percentage of enrolment
in primary schools with pre-primary facilities is       • Government educational institutions: These
low. It was 10 per cent in 2007-08 compared to            are run by the Central Government or state
7.7 per cent in 2004-05.                                  governments, public sector undertaking
                                                          or autonomic organisations and are wholly
Primary schooling system in India                         financed by the government. Examples
Primary education starts at approximately 5–6             of these types of schools include state
years of the child and lasts for around 4–5               government schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas,
years. Primary school education gives students            Ashram schools, Navodaya Vidyalayas, Sainik
a sound basic education in reading, writing               Schools, Military schools, Air Force schools,
and mathematics along with an elementary                  and Naval schools.
understanding of social sciences.                       • Local body institutions: These are run
                                                          by municipal committees/ corporations/
Upper primary schooling system in India                   NAC/ Zilla Parishads/ Panchayat Samitis/
Upper primary education is of three years                 Cantonment Board, etc. Examples of these
duration and starts for students aged between             types of schools include the ones run by
10-11 years. It usually continues up to 13-14 years.      NDMC (New Delhi Municipality Council), Delhi
At this stage, education consists of the basic            Cantonment Board, etc.
programs of primary school level, though teaching
                                                        • Private-aided institutions: These are managed
is more subject-focused.
                                                          privately but receive regular maintenance
                                                          grant from the government, local body or
Secondary schooling system in India
                                                          any other public authority. The rules and
Secondary school education comprises of two
                                                          regulations followed here are same as that
years of lower secondary and two years of higher
                                                          of the public schools. The curriculum, study
secondary education. The lower secondary level
                                                          materials, syllabus, examinations, etc. for each
is for students aged 14 to 16 years. Admission
                                                          class of education are done according to the
requirement is the completion of upper primary
                                                          government rules. For the high school classes
school education. Instruction is more organized
                                                          the final examinations will be same as that of
along specific subjects.
                                                          the public schools. In these institutions the
                                                          education would be provided for all students
Higher secondary schooling system in India
                                                          taking admissions there. The fee structure,
Senior secondary education comprises two years
                                                          PTA fund, etc will be collected from the
of higher secondary education, which starts at
                                                          students according to the rules formulated
approximately 16 years and ends at the 17th
                                                          by the government for each school. Even the
year of the child. At the senior secondary level, a
                                                          recruitment of faculties here will depend on
student can choose particular subjects/vocations
                                                          the norms as per the government schools.
(keeping requirement of educational boards and
                                                          There will be no specific criteria for the
preferences in view).
                                                          admission of students in these institutions.
14                                                                                       Indian School Education System

 • Private unaided institutions: These are managed by an individual or a private organisation and do
   not receive maintenance grant either from government, local body or any other public authority.
   The fee structure for the students may vary greatly from that of the government institutions. The
   students are admitted to these institutions according to some criteria (entrance examinations,
   interviews, etc.) and it is totally under the control of the private management. These schools
   generally create their own curriculum and organize examinations for evaluating the student
   competency.
The following table shows the number of schools as per ownership type according to the provisional
statistics of the Eighth All India School Educational Survey:
Table 1: Number of Indian schools as per ownership

                                      Public sector schools                          Private sector schools
                               Government               Local body            Private-aided            Private unaided
 Primary                                524,234                140,765                    26,484                   68,203
 Upper primary                          219,451                 59,961                    22,742                   63,748
 Secondary                                42,119                 11,582                   27,053                   36,252
 Higher secondary                        24,808                  1,847                    17,302                   20,441
 Total                                  810,612                214,155                    93,581                  188,644
 Sector wise total                          1,024,767                                         282,225

 • The number of schools managed by the central/state governments is almost double the schools
   managed by others taken together.
 • There is a sharp fall in the number of schools in the secondary and higher secondary segment.
 • There is a significant drop out as we go to higher levels of education.
 • Private schools account for only 22 per cent of
   the total K-12 schools in India.
 • However, considering only the secondary and
   higher secondary segments, private schools
   account for 56 per cent of the total schools.
 • 67 per cent of all private sector schools are
   unaided while 33 per cent are aided.
 • Of the 1.3 million schools in India, 62 per cent
   are managed by the central/state governments
   and 16 per cent are managed by the local
   bodies.                                          Figure 9: Percentage of distribution of schools in K-12 segment

Figure 8: Number of Indian schools as per ownership           Figure 10: Percentage distribution of schools in secondary
                                                              and higher secondary segment only
Indian School Education System                                                                                              15

Though the public sector schools dominate the numbers as compared to the private sector, the
enrolment picture is slightly different. The following table shows the number of students enrolled in
different types of schools as per ownership type according to the figures available from the Seventh All
India School Educational Survey:

Table 2: Enrolment in Indian schools

                                        Public sector schools                            Private sector schools
                                Government                Local body             Private-aided            Private unaided
 Primary                               43,324,000               24,827,821               4,649,347                8,099,485
 Upper primary                         22,951,000               15,230,497               5,823,375               10,230,142
 Secondary                              8,813,691                3,451,521              10,537,642                7,441,667
 Higher secondary                      10,890,079                1,290,192              16,144,037                7,932,526
 Total                                 85,978,770             44,800,031                37,154,401              33,703,820
 Sector wise total                          130,778,801                                        70,858,221

 • It is clearly noted that though enrolment in
   government school still dominates in the
   primary level, the private schools have greater
   share of student enrolment as we go to higher
   classes.
 • The enrolment in private-aided institutions
   is more than the enrolment in unaided
   institutions.
 • Though the number of private schools is just
   22 per cent of the total, enrolment in these
   schools account for 35 per cent of the total
                                                                 Figure 11: Enrolment in Indian schools
   K—12 universe.
 • In secondary and higher secondary segments, the enrolment in private schools account for 63 per
   cent of the total.
 • About 52 per cent of the total enrolments in private sector schools are in aided institutions while
   the remaining 48 per cent are in unaided institutions.
 • Only 34 per cent of the total enrolments in public sector schools are in local body institutions.

Figure 12: Percentage distribution of enrolment in K-12          Figure 13: Percentage distribution of enrolment in secondary
segment                                                          and higher secondary segment only
16                                                                                Indian School Education System

C. Segmentation by means of educational board                governmental education board in India. It
affiliations                                                 conducts the ICSE (for class X) and ISC (for
                                                             class XII) examinations in India. About 1,900
Education in India falls under the control of
                                                             schools are affiliated with the CISCE board.
The National Council of Educational Research
                                                             The board was set up in 1956 at the meeting
and Training (NCERT). It is an apex resource
                                                             of the Inter-State Board for Anglo-Indian
organisation set up by the Government of India,
                                                             Education, where a proposal was adopted
with headquarters at New Delhi, to assist and
                                                             for the setting up of an Indian Council to
advise the Central and State Governments on
                                                             administer the University of Cambridge Local
academic matters related to school education.
                                                             Examinations Syndicate’s Examinations in
The NCERT provides support and technical
                                                             India. It was recognised as a body conducting
assistance to a number of schools in India and
                                                             public examinations in India by the Delhi
oversees many aspects of enforcement of
                                                             Education Act, 1973, passed by Parliament, in
education policies. The objective of NCERT is to
                                                             Chapter 1 under Definitions Section 2 (s).
assist and advise the Ministry of Education and
Social Welfare in the implementation of its policies
                                                         3. State Government Boards: These educational
and major programmes in the field of education,
                                                            boards are regulated and supervised by the
particularly school education. Its functions include
                                                            state apex organisation for secondary and
Research, Development, Training, Extension,
                                                            senior secondary education. A portion of the
Publication and Dissemination and Exchange
                                                            curriculum focuses specifically on imparting
Programmes. The NCERT also drafts, publishes
                                                            knowledge about the state. Majority of
and recommends school text books (from
                                                            Indian schools are affiliated with the state
Class 1–12) of various subjects based on the
                                                            government boards. The oldest state board is
recommendations of knowledgeable faculty in the
                                                            the U.P. Board of High School & Intermediate
subject.
                                                            Education established in 1922 as an
                                                            autonomous body under the Department
In India, the various curriculum bodies governing
                                                            of Education. Uttar Pradesh has the highest
school education system are:
                                                            number of State board schools followed by
                                                            Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh
National Boards
                                                            and Maharashtra.
 1. Central Board of Secondary Education
     (CBSE)16: Established in 1962 under the
                                                         4. National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)18:
     purview of MHRD, CBSE gives affiliations to
                                                            It is the board of education for distance
     both public and private schools. There are
                                                            education, under the Union Government
     currently about 15,167 schools affiliated
                                                            of India. It was established by the Ministry
     under CBSE. The board conducts final
                                                            of Human Resource Development of the
     examinations, All India Senior School
                                                            Government of India in 1989 (known as
     Certificate Examination (AISSCE) for classes
                                                            National Open School then) to provide
     X and XII. It also annually conducts the AIEEE
                                                            education inexpensively to remote areas.
     and AIPMT examinations for admission to
                                                            It provides a number of vocational, life-
     undergraduate courses in engineering (and
                                                            enrichment and community-oriented courses
     architecture) and medicine in numerous
                                                            besides general and academic courses
     colleges spread over India. CBSE is
                                                            at secondary and senior secondary level.
     recognised by the Indian government and by
                                                            Currently there are 3,827 academic centres,
     most of the universities and colleges in India.
                                                            1,830 vocational centres and 690 accredited
                                                            agencies under NIOS.
  2. Council of Indian School Certificate
     Examinations (CISCE)17: It is a private, non-

16 http://cbse.nic.in/                                 18 http://www.nios.ac.in/
17 http://www.nios.ac.in/                              19 http://www.ibo.org/
Indian School Education System                                                                     17

International Boards
  1. International Baccalaureate Organisation         2. Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)20:
     (IBO)19: IBO was founded in 1968 as an              Cambridge International Examinations
     international, non-governmental, non-profit         (formerly known as University of Cambridge
     educational organization based in Geneva,           International Examinations, are a provider
     Switzerland. IB World Schools in India offer        of international qualifications offering
     three IB programs—primary years program             examinations and qualifications in more
     (PYP), middle years program (MYP) and IB            than 160 countries. They are an examination
     Diploma program (IBDP). There are 109 IB            board under Cambridge Assessment,
     World Schools in India offering one or more         founded in 1858 as a department of the
     of the three IB programmes. 50 schools              University of Cambridge. There are now over
     offer the PYP, 11 schools offer the MYP and         310 Cambridge schools in India making over
     96 schools offer the IBDP. IB is recognised         44,000 examination entries for Cambridge
     by the ‘Association of Indian Universities’         IGCSE and Cambridge International AS and A
     as an entry qualification (equivalent to +2         Level, a rise of 15 per cent since 2012.
     qualification of an Indian Board) to all the
     universities.                                  20 http://www.cie.org.uk/
18                                                                         Indian School Education System

   Education Boards in India

The Council of Boards of School Education in          2. Board of Secondary Education, Andhra
India (COBSE)21 is a voluntary association of            Pradesh
all the Boards of School Education in India. It       3. Assam Higher Secondary Education Council
works in close collaboration with Ministry of
                                                      4. Board of Secondary Education, Assam
Human Resource Development, Government
of India, other national level apex educational       5. Bihar School Examination Board
organisations and agencies like the National          6. Bihar State Madrasa Education Board
Council of Educational Research and Training          7. Banasthali Vidyapith
(NCERT), National University of Educational
                                                      8. Central Board of Secondary Education
Planning and Administration (NUEPA) and National
Council of Teacher Education (NCTE).                  9. Chhatisgarh Board of Secondary Education
                                                     10. Chhatisgarh State Open School
COBSE was established in 1979 by the Central
                                                     11. Chhatisgarh Sanskrit Board, Raipur
Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to provide
a forum for mutual exchange. Since 1989, it          12. Chhatisgarh Madrasa Board
functions as an independent secretariat. Currently   13. Council for The Indian School Certificate
COBSE has 51 members with some foreign boards            Examinations
recognised as its associate members.                 14. Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed
                                                         University)
The major functions of COBSE are:
                                                     15. Goa Board of Secondary and Higher
 • to provide a forum to its members to discuss
                                                         Secondary Education
    issues and mutually learn for the improvement
    of quality of education.                         16. Gujarat Secondary & Higher Secondary
                                                         Education Board
 • to do curriculum reform and bring about
   improvement in evaluation systems.                17. Board of School Education, Haryana
 • to respond to national concerns like              18. Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education
   population, education and disaster                19. J.K. State Board of School Education
   management.                                       20. Jharkhand Academic Council, Ranchi
 • to provide opportunities for professional         21. Government of Karnataka Dept. of Pre-
   development of officers of the member                 University Education
   boards.
                                                     22. Karnataka Secondary Education Examination
 • to interact with NCERT and NUEPA on                   Board
   professional issues.
                                                     23. Kerala Board of Public Examination
The following is the list of member boards of        24. Kerala Board of Higher Secondary Education
COBSE:                                               25. Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and
 1. Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra              Higher Secondary Education
     Pradesh

21 http://www.cobse.org/
Indian School Education System                                                                     19

26. Board of Secondary Education Madhya            44. Board of School Education, Uttarakhand
    Pradesh                                        45. West Bengal Board of Secondary Education
27. Madhya Pradesh State Open School               46. West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary
28. Maharishi Patanjali Sanskrit Sansthan (Dept.       Education
    of School Education, Govt. of Madhya           47. West Bengal Board of Primary Education
    Pradesh)
                                                   48. West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education
29. Board of Secondary Education, Manipur
                                                   49. The West Bengal Council of Rabindra Open
30. Council of Higher Secondary Education,             Schooling
    Manipur
                                                   50. Andhra Pradesh Open School Society,
31. Meghalaya Board of School Education                Government of Andhra Pradesh
32. Mizoram Board of School Education              51. Bihar Board of Open Schooling & Examination
33. Nagaland Board of School Education
34. National Institute of Open Schooling
                                                   Associate Members
35. Council of Higher Secondary Education,
                                                    1. Higher Secondary Education Board,
    Orissa
                                                       Sanothimi Bhaktapur, Nepal
36. Board of Secondary Education, Orissa
                                                    2. Mauritius Examinations Syndicate, Reduit
37. Punjab School Education Board                      Mauritius
38. Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan         3. Bhutan Board of Examinations, Ministry of
39. Rajasthan State Open School, Jaipur                Education, Thimpu, Bhutan
40. State Board of School Examinations & Board      4. The Aga Khan University Examination Board,
    of Higher Secondary Examinations, Tamil            Karachi, Pakistan
    Nadu                                            5. Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC),
41. Tripura Board of Secondary Education               Islamabad, Pakistan
42. U.P. Board of High School & Intermediate        6. Cambridge International Examinations, UK
    Education                                       7. Edexcel, London, UK
43. U.P. Sec. Sanskrit Education Council
20                                                                                                   Indian School Education System

              Comparative Study of CBSE, CISCE,
              IB and CIE Education Boards in India

Programme Structure

                          Classes &      Curriculum               Assessment                                    Key Subjects
                          Ages                                                                                  Taught

                          1–8            No prescribed syllabus   Internal assessment conducted by the          Languages, Env.
                          (ages 6–14)    from board, but          teachers (no formal periodic tests, no        Studies (Science
                                         recommends syllabus      awarding of grades or marks for primary       and Social Science
                                         laid down by NCERT       levels; no detention till class 8)            integrated),
                                                                                                                Mathematics

                          9, 10          Syllabus as prescribed by Class 9 – Internal assessment in             Mathematics, Social
                          (ages 14–16)   the CBSE                  accordance with the guidelines of the        Studies, Science,
                                                                   Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation      English and 1
                                                                   (CCE) system.                                other language as
                                                                                                                compulsory and 1
                                                                  Class 10 (having higher secondary levels) –   out of Information
                  CBSE

                                                                  Internal assessment; students are provided    Edu., Home Science
                                                                  a Certificate of School Based Assessment.     and Physical Edu. as
                                                                                                                optional
                                                                  Class 10 (secondary schools, or for
                                                                  students who wish to move out of the CBSE
                                                                  system) – External assessment (AISSE
                                                                  examination)
NATIONAL BOARDS

                          11, 12         Syllabus as prescribed   Class 11 – Internal assessment conducted      Various
                          (ages 16–18)   by the CBSE              by the teachers                               combinations of
                                                                                                                subjects as per
                                                                  Class 12 – External assessment in the form    interest
                                                                  of AISSCE examination

                          1–8            No prescribed syllabus   Internal assessment with annual               English, Env.Edu,
                          (ages 6–14)    from board, but          examinations conducted at the school level    Maths, Science
                                                                                                                (Physics, Chemistry,
                                         recommends the Inter                                                   Biology)
                                         State Board for Anglo
                                         Indian Education

                          9, 10          Syllabus as prescribed   Class 9 – Internal assessment with annual     Comp subjects:
                          (ages 14–16)   by the CISCE.            examinations conducted at the school level    English, 2nd
                                                                                                                language, History,
                  CISCE

                                                                  Class 10 – Internal and external              Civics, Geography,
                                                                  assessments (ICSE examination)                Env.Edu. + 3
                                                                                                                electives to be
                                                                                                                chosen from a list
                                                                                                                of courses

                          11, 12         Syllabus as prescribed   Class 11 – Internal assessment with annual    Comp subjects:
                          (ages 16–18)   by the CISCE.            examinations conducted at the school level    English and Env.Edu.
                                                                                                                + 3, 4 or 5 electives
                                                                  Class 12 – Internal and external              to be chosen from
                                                                  assessments (ISC examination)                 the list of courses
Indian School Education System                                                                                                                                                   21

Programme Structure

                                                                   Classes &        Curriculum          Assessment                                            Key Subjects
                                                                   Ages                                                                                       Taught

                                                                   PYP              Curriculum          Internal assessment with a continuous evaluation      Language;
                                                                   (ages 3–12)      prescribed by       and conducted by the teachers based on certain        Mathematics;
                                                                                    IBO                 pre-decided criterion (by the IB)                     Science; Social
                        INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE ORGANISATION

                                                                                                                                                              Studies; Arts;
                                                                                                                                                              Personal, Social
                                                                                                                                                              and Physical
                                                                                                                                                              Education

                                                                   MYP              Curriculum          Internal assessment with a continuous evaluation      Languages (2),
                                                                   (ages 11–16)     prescribed by       and conducted by the teachers based on certain        Humanities,
                                                                                    IBO                 pre-decided criterion (by the IB)                     Sciences,
                                                                                                                                                              Mathematics, Arts,
                                                                                                                                                              Physical Education,
                                                                                                                                                              Technology

                                                                   IBDP             Curriculum          External assessment in the form of examinations       1 subject from
                                                                   (ages 16–19)     prescribed by       conducted at the end of the diploma program.          each of the
                                                                                    IBO                 These are marked by external examiners. Marks         following groups—
                                                                                                        are awarded from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest) for        Languages,
                                                                                                        each subject. A minimum of 24 points is required      Individuals
                                                                                                        for the student to receive the diploma certificate.   and Societies,
 INTERNATIONAL BOARDS

                                                                                                                                                              Experimental
                                                                                                                                                              Sciences, Arts,
                                                                                                                                                              Mathematics and
                                                                                                                                                              Computer Science

                                                                   Primary          Curriculum        Cambridge Primary Progression Tests (marked in          Mathematics,
                                                                   (ages 5–11)      prescribed by CIE school)                                                 English and
                                                                                                                                                              Science
                                                                                                        Cambridge Primary Checkpoint (marked by
                        CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS

                                                                                                        Cambridge examiners)

                                                                   Secondary I      Curriculum        Cambridge Secondary 1 Progression Tests                 Mathematics,
                                                                   (ages 11–14)     prescribed by CIE (marked in school)                                      English and
                                                                                                                                                              Science
                                                                                                        Cambridge Secondary 1 Checkpoint (marked by
                                                                                                        Cambridge examiners)

                                                                   Secondary II –   Curriculum        Assessments include written, oral, coursework           Over 70 subjects
                                                                   IGCSE, O level   prescribed by CIE and practical assessment. Grading provided using        offered (40
                                                                   (ages 14–16)                       eight internationally recognised grades, A* to G        subjects for O
                                                                                                      (six grades for O level), with clear guidelines to      level) divided into
                                                                                                      explain standard of achievement for each                five groups.

                                                                   Advanced – A/ Curriculum           AS Level only (syllabus content is half that of A       About 55 subjects
                                                                   AS levels, Pre-U prescribed by CIE Level)                                                  offered (for A/
                                                                   (ages 16–19)                                                                               AS); 26 subjects
                                                                                                      ‘Staged’ assessment route                               offered for Pre-U

                                                                                                        All papers of A Level course in the same
                                                                                                        examination session, usually at the end of the
                                                                                                        course
22                                                                                                    Indian School Education System

Affiliation Procedures

                                                                          NATIONAL BOARDS

                                                         CBSE                                                CISCE

          Documentary             Applications for provisional affiliation (online       •   NOC from the state
          Evidence                only) may be considered under the following
                                  four categories:                                       •   School must have students at least till
                                                                                             class VI and should not have class IX
                                  (i) Approval of middle class syllabus (school          •   Registration as a society/trust/
                                  should have students at least till class V)                company (under Section 25(1)(a)
                                                                                             of the Companies Act 1956 or as
                                  (ii) Approval of a secondary school                        amended)
                                  • NOC from the state (only if objection is
                                        raised during the application process            •   Audited accounts – Copy of Balance
                                                                                             Sheet and Income Statements (must
                                  •    Registration as a society/trust/ company              not be run for profit)
 STEP 1

                                       (under Section 25(1)(a) of the Companies
                                       Act 1956 or as amended)                           •   English as medium of instruction

                                  •    Audited accounts – Copy of Balance Sheet          •   Governance structure
                                       and Income Statements
                                                                                         •   Land and infrastructure
                                  •    Governance Structure
                                                                                         •   Staff qualifications
                                  •    Land and Infrastructure
                                                                                         •   Fee structure
                                  •    Staff qualifications
                                                                                         •   Service contracts, code of conduct
                                  •    Fee structure                                         and service rules

                                  •    Service contracts, code of conduct and
                                       service rules

          Inspection              Inspection of the school by a team appointed           Inspection of the school by a team
                                  by the Council, following which a report is            appointed by the Council, following which
                                  submitted by the inspectors.                           a report is submitted by the inspectors.
                                                                                         The inspection will be arranged only:
 STEP 2

                                                                                         (i) after the school has obtained a NOC
                                                                                         from the state, and

                                                                                         (ii) after submission of full details as
                                                                                         required for provisional affiliation.

          Provisional Affiliation Decision is taken based on the submitted               Decision is taken by the Council based on
                                  report. A fee as determined by the Council is          the submitted report. A fee as determined
                                  payable by the school after it is approved for         by the Council is payable by the School
 STEP 3

                                  provisional affiliation. Provisional affiliation may   after it is approved for provisional
                                  continue for three years and may be granted            affiliation. Provisional affiliation may
                                  extension for a further period of 3–5 years            continue for five years.
                                  subject to fulfilling the affiliation conditions in
                                  the extended period.

          Fulfilment of           A school applying for permanent affiliation            A school applying for permanent affiliation
 STEP 4

          Conditions              must have fulfilled all the undertakings given to      must have fulfilled all the undertakings
                                  the Council at the time of provisional affiliation     given to the Council at the time of
                                  or subsequent inspections.                             provisional affiliation or subsequent
                                                                                         inspections.
Indian School Education System                                                                                            23

Affiliation Procedures

                                                                   NATIONAL BOARDS

                                                    CBSE                                            CISCE

          Inspection           Inspection of the school by a team appointed     Inspection of the school by a team
 STEP 5

                               by the Council, following which a report is      appointed by the Council, following which
                               submitted by the inspectors.                     a report is submitted by the inspectors.

          Permanent            Decision is taken by the Council based on the    Decision is taken by the Council based
 STEP 6

          Affiliation          submitted report.                                on the submitted report. For permanent
                                                                                affiliation a fee as stipulated by the Council
                                                                                from time to time is payable to the Council
                                                                                by the school

          Extension to +2      Similar process to be followed with additional   Similar process to be followed with
          Level                information to be provided to the Council        additional information to be provided to
 STEP 7

                               in the lines of accommodation of +2 classes,     the Council in the lines of accommodation
                               separate laboratories for practical work,        of +2 classes, separate laboratories for
                               teaching staff as per requirement.               practical work, teaching staff as per
                                                                                requirement.

          Periodic / Special   Online application and review for renewal of     Every affiliated school will be inspected
 STEP 8

          Inspection           affiliation.                                     by the Council at least once in three years
                                                                                and a report will be submitted by the
                                                                                inspecting officer(s) to the Chief Executive
                                                                                and Secretary.

Other important affiliation guidelines

Number of students – While CBSE mentions                           7. Hall / Examination Room
the optimum number of students in a section of                     8. Administration Offices
a class as 40; CISCE specifically mentions that
                                                                   9. Washrooms
number of students should not exceed 45 in a
section of a class.                                              10. Infirmary
                                                                 11. Facilities
School inspection parameters – The following                     12. Students
parameters are taken into account during school
                                                                 13. Personnel
inspection prior to give provisional affiliation to a
school:                                                          14. Academics
                                                                 15. Co-curricular / Extra-curricular / Cultural
  1. School building
                                                                     Activities
  2. Playground
                                                                 16. Mandatory Documents
  3. Classrooms
                                                                 *Residential schools are inspected on other
  4. Science Laboratories                                        additional parameters including hostel facility,
  5. Computer Laboratory                                         dining area, cleanliness and hygienic condition of
  6. Library                                                     kitchen, drainage system, study areas, matron /
                                                                 warden, etc.
24                                                                                             Indian School Education System

Affiliation Procedures

                                                               INTERNATIONAL BOARDS

                                                    IBO                                               CIE

          Expression of      Schools complete the school information            A school is contacted within two working
          Interest**         form in order to inform the IB of their interest   days of submitting the online expression
                             and to request additional information. Before      of interest. The following are asked at this
                             application, the school conducts a feasibility     stage:
                             study in which it analyses the IB philosophy,
 STEP 1

                             programme structure and requirements,              (i) key contact details
                             compares its findings with the situation of the
                             school and defines what needs to be done in        (ii) the programmes and qualifications
                             order to implement the programme.                  interested in

                                                                                (iii) whether the school is ready to offer the
                                                                                programmes and qualifications
 STEP 2

          Completion of      The school completes the Application for           Local Cambridge representative sends the
          Application Form   candidacy: Primary Years Programme and             application form.
                             gathers the supporting documents.

          Approval Visit*    Upon acceptance of the application, a              Local Cambridge representative visits
                             visit to the school is carried out to verify       the school to look at the evidence
                             the school’s claim that it has taken all the       supporting the information submitted on
                             necessary actions and is prepared to become        the application form. Quality standards are
                             an IB World School. The purpose of the visit       measured in five key areas:
                             is to ensure that the educational principles,
                             standards and practices on which the IB
 STEP 3

                                                                                (i) School’s mission and educational values
                             programme is founded will be maintained and
                             furthered. The visit is not aimed at appraising    (ii) School management and leadership
                             or assessing individual teachers or school
                             administrators.                                    (iii) Quality of teaching and learning

                                                                                (iv) Physical environment of the school

                                                                                (v) Legal requirements

          Approval           Following the visit, the relevant IB office        Based on the assessment of the
                             produces a report which is based on the            approval visit form, the local Cambridge
                             findings of the visit and the data from the        representative makes recommendation in
                             application forms. It includes the following       one of the following three categories:
                             elements:
                                                                                (i) Approved
                             • Commendations
                             • Recommendations                                  (ii) Approved with conditions
 STEP 4

                             • Matters to be addressed                          (ii) Not ready to join Cambridge
                             The director general is responsible for
                             deciding the outcome of all applications and
                             is based on the documents submitted by the
                             relevant IB office. The decision can either be:

                             (i) Authorised

                             (ii) Continuation of candidacy

                             (iii) Refusal of authorisation
Indian School Education System                                                                       25

**The following are the requirements that must        *The following documents are required during the
be in place for the school to be recognised as a      approval visit for a CIE affiliation:
candidate school for IBO authorisation:                • Organogram for senior management team
 • The school is registered as a legal entity with
                                                       • Job descriptions for senior management team
    an educational purpose.
                                                       • Roles and responsibilities with respect to
 • There is no IB trademark in the name of the
                                                         Cambridge programmes and qualifications for
   school.
                                                         senior management team
 • The school’s mission and philosophy align or
                                                       • Key staff CVs (principal and teachers involved
   can be aligned with those of the IB without
                                                         in teaching Cambridge syllabuses)
   making it necessary for the school to give up
   a major part of its own mission or philosophy.      • Code of conduct for students and teachers

 • If the school applies to be a multi-campus          • Mission statement and educational values
   school it meets the requirements according to       • School development plan showing goals for
   the rules.                                            the introduction of the Cambridge curriculum
 • There is no gap or planned gap between              • Performance management plan
   consecutive IB programmes at the school.
                                                       • School curriculum policy
 • All students in all grade/year levels in the
   school, or in the primary division of the school    • School language policy
   (3–12 years old), are engaged in the PYP.           • Complaints policy
 • The school must have or plans to have at least      • Health and safety policy
   two consecutive grades/year levels to be
                                                       • First aid certificates
   eligible for authorisation.
                                                       • Fire certificates as required by local
 • The programme coordinator has been or
                                                         legislation
   will be appointed at the start of the trial
   implementation.                                     • School professional development policy
 • The school has the written commitment of            • Evidence (in English) of government approval
   the authorities that will finance the project of      to offer an international curriculum
   implementing the programme.                         • Document evidences for other necessary
 • The Head of school or designee has attended           government permissions
   the required workshop.
26                                                                                           Indian School Education System

Minimum Staff Qualifications

        Heads of Schools

        Higher Secondary Schools:
        A. (i) Masters or Honours Degree of a Foreign University recognised as equivalent to the Masters Degree of an
        Indian University by the U.P.S.C.
        OR
        Honours Degree of such Indian Universities as may be recognised equivalent to the Masters Degree by the U.P.S.C.
        (ii) A teaching Degree or a Diploma in Education or its equivalent.
        (iii) Experience as required under anyone of the following clauses:
        a) At least 3 years’ experience of administrative charge of a recognised College having Intermediate or higher
        classes.
        b) At least 5 years’ experience of administrative charge of a recognised High School.
        c) At least 5 years’ experience of teaching in a recognised college or Higher Secondary School or an equivalent
        teaching experience in a Teachers Training Institute.
        d) At least 8 years’ teaching experience in a recognised High School.
        e) At least 5 years’ experience including 3 years’ educational administrative experience and 2 years teaching
        experience in a recognised High or Higher Secondary School or a Teachers Training Institute.
        OR
        B. Bachelor of Engineering with 5 years teaching experience in a recognised College or Hr. Sec. School (Given
        effect from 1.1.1977).
CBSE

        OR
        C. Trained Graduate Heads of recognised High Schools who have attained the age of 45 years and possess at least
        15 years teaching experience of Secondary classes in a recognised High/Higher Secondary School (including at
        least 5 years administrative experience as Head of a recognised High School.)
        OR
        D. Persons possessing Masters Degree with at least 15 years teaching experience in a recognised Higher
        Secondary School and/or a recognised college having attained the age of 45 years.
        OR
        E. Persons possessing Masters Degree in Education and having the requisite experience as provided for in anyone
        of the forgoing clauses A to D.

        Secondary Schools:
        At least Master’s Degree (or its equivalent) with a teaching degree or its equivalent with 5 years’ experience of
        teaching of High or Higher Secondary/Intermediate classes.
        OR
        i) At least Bachelors Degree from a recognised University;
        ii) B.Ed. from a recognised University/Institute; and
        iii) 8 years’ experience of teaching Secondary School classes (up to class X) or 12 years of teaching experience of
        Middle and Secondary classes of which minimum 5 years being experience of teaching the Secondary classes; or
        5 years’ experience as Headmaster of Middle School or other equivalent administrative experience.

        Principal/ Headmaster / Headmistress:
        The Principal / Headmaster / Headmistress must possess a postgraduate academic degree in a teaching subject
        from a recognised University and a recognised teacher-education degree and five years teaching experience in a
CISCE

        recognized school.

        Vice-Principal / Senior Master / Senior Mistress:
        The Vice-Principal / Senior Master / Senior Mistress must possess a postgraduate academic degree in a teaching
        subject from a recognised University and a recognised teacher-education degree.
Indian School Education System                                                                                            27

Minimum Staff Qualifications

         Teachers at Higher Secondary Levels (Classes 11 and 12)

         (i) Subject Teachers:
         Masters Degree in the subject (Persons having post graduate qualifications with specialisation in a branch of the
         subject with graduation in the subject concerned be treated on par with the M.A /M.Sc. in the subject concerned
         provided it is preceded by Graduation in the subject of teaching.); and
         (a) Degree or recognised Diploma in education
         OR
         (b) Three years’ experience of teaching Intermediate or higher classes

         (ii) Computer Teacher:
         (a) BE/B. Tech in Computer Science/Computer Engineering/Information Technology/ Electronics/Electronics &
         Communications or Equivalent.
         OR
         (b) MCA/M.Sc /Computer Science/ Information Technology/Masters in IT or Equivalent.
         OR
         (c) M. Sc. (Mathematics) and B.Sc. (Computer Science) or BCA or equivalent.
         OR
 CBSE

         (d) Post Graduate degree in Mathematics or Physics or Statistics and 3 year Diploma in Computer Engineering/IT
         from an institution recognized by the AICTE/University.
         OR
         (e) Post Graduate degree in Mathematics or Physics or Statistics and at least Post Graduate Diploma in Computer
         Application from an institution recognized by the AICTE/University or equivalent.
         OR
         (f) ‘B’ level from DOEACC; and
         (a) Graduate with Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) or its equivalent
         OR
         (b) Three years’ experience of teaching intermediate or higher classes.

         (iii) Physical Education Teacher:
         Post-Graduate in Physical Education (M.P.Ed.) from a recognised University/Institute.

         (iv) Librarian:

         B.Lib. / M.Lib. OR Graduate/Post-Graduate with Diploma in Library Science from a recognised Institute.

         (v) Other Activity Teachers:
         Qualifications as recognised by NCTE.

         (i) Subject Teachers:
         Qualifications as specified for the Principal/Headmaster/Headmistress in the subjects they teach.
         (ii) Computer Teacher:
         M.C.A. or Graduate with P.G. Diploma in Computers (two years duration) from a recognised University/Institute.
 CISCE

         (iii) Physical Education Teacher: Post-Graduate in Physical Education (M.P.Ed.) from a recognised University/
         Institute.
         (iv) Librarian: B.Lib. / M.Lib. OR Graduate/Post-Graduate with Diploma in Library Science from a recognised
         Institute.
         (v) Other Activity Teachers: Qualifications as recognised by NCTE.
28                                                                                             Indian School Education System

Minimum Staff Qualifications

        Teachers at Secondary Levels (Classes 6–10)

        (i) Subject Teachers:
        Graduate Degree in the subject; and
        (a) Degree or recognised Diploma in education
        OR
        (b) B.Ed with subject from the Regional College of Education
        (ii) Computer Teacher:
        (a) B.Sc. Computer Science/BCA/ Bachelor of Information Technology
        OR
        (b) Graduate Degree in any subject with Mathematics as a subject and 3 years Diploma in Computer Engineering/
        IT from an Institution recognized by AICTE/University.
        OR
        (c) Graduate Degree in any subject with Mathematics as a subject and at least one year Diploma in Computer
        Applications from an Institution recognized by AICTE /University.
        OR
CBSE

        (d) ‘A’ level from DOEACC and
        (e) Graduate with Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) or its equivalent
        The existing teachers who are not fulfilling the above qualification criteria may acquire the minimum qualifications
        within a period of 5 years.
        (iii) Physical Education Teacher:
        (a) Graduate in Physical Education or B.P. Ed
        (b) D.P. Ed. awarded by a recognised University /Institution after training of minimum one academic session
        provided that the admission qualification for the Diploma is at least a university degree.
        OR
        (c) Bachelor of Sports, Humanities and Physical Education of Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar.
        (iv) Librarian:
        Graduate with diploma in Library Science from a recognised institute.
        (Junior Librarian: Matriculation or equivalent with Certificate in Library Science from recognised Institute).
        (v) Other Activity Teachers:

        Qualifications as recognised by NCTE.

        (i) Subject Teachers:
        Graduate academic degree in a teaching subject from a recognised University and a recognised teacher-
        education degree.
        (ii) Computer Teacher:
        B.C.A. / M.C.A. OR Graduate with P.G. Diploma in Computers (two years) from a recognised University / Institute.
CISCE

        (iii) Physical Education Teacher:
        Graduate in Physical Education (B.P.Ed.) from a recognised University / Institute.
        (iv) Librarian:

        B.Lib. / M.Lib. OR Graduate/Post-Graduate with Diploma in Library Science from a recognised Institute.
        (v) Other Activity Teachers:
        Qualifications as recognized by NCTE.
Indian School Education System                                                                         29

         Teachers at Primary Levels (Classes 1–5)

         Higher Secondary with JBT (Two years)
 CBSE

         OR
         Intermediate/Senior Secondary with JBT (One year).
         Preference is however given to trained graduates.

         Trained teachers with Kindergarten or Primary School training from recognised institutions.
 CISCE
30                                                                                             Indian School Education System

   CBSE International (CBSE-i)

CBSE International (CBSE-i) is an internationally-                United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia
benchmarked, enquiry and skill-based curriculum                   and other Gulf countries in 2010-11 and has
catering to individual learning styles. Launched                  been extended to other classes in subsequent
by CBSE in 2010, CBSE-i is set to address global                  years. The course is currently offered in over
needs (about 70 per cent of the curriculum is                     75 Kendriya Vidyalayas and other select Indian
global in nature) as well as relate to local issues               schools all over the country. In CBSE-i, there are
and local culture. The curriculum was offered                     five learning areas or units of enquiry which are
across 26 schools in classes 1 and 9 in the                       described as follows:

                     Classes of study                             Aims of the curriculum

                     2 languages up to class 5 (English and       To develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in a
                     Hindi or mother language or any other        variety of contexts.
                     foreign language), 3 languages from
                                                                  To develop learners’ critical abilities to analyse and evaluate
 Languages           classes 6-10.
                                                                  diverse texts,
                                                                  To equip learners with the language to question ideas and
                                                                  express their point of view.

                     Env.Edu. (for classes 1-2), History,         To develop an understanding and evaluation of the social,
                     Geography, Social and Political              political, economic and environmental dimensions of the
 Social Studies      Structures (for classes 3-5), Economics +    world.
                     earlier subjects (for classes 6-10).
                                                                  To help learners formulate and justify arguments in
                                                                  response to a diverse range of issues.

                     Compulsory for classes 1-10. Till class      To help learners develop strategies that improves their
                     8, the focus is on developing core           logical thinking and analytical ability.
                     mathematical skills in all learners, while
                                                                  Mathematics Lab activities to be an integral and a
                     there is a choice between core and a
 Mathematics and                                                  compulsory part of the curriculum and examinable from
                     higher elective Mathematics in classes 9
 Technology                                                       classes 6-10.
                     and 10.
                                                                  Information and Communications Technology is designed
                                                                  to help learners assess the impact of new technologies on
                                                                  society.

                     Covered in Environmental Education in        To provide an opportunity to be curious, to question, to
                     classes 1 and 2, in General Science in       investigate, to formulate hypotheses, design and carry out
                     classes 3-5, as individual disciplines of    experiments, make critical observations and record results.
 Science             Physics, Chemistry and Biology in classes
                                                                  An extension programme called Breakthroughs will help
                     6-10.
                                                                  learners to stay familiar with current trends of scientific
                                                                  thinking and developmental processes.

                     PE is compulsory for classes 1-10. Music,    The PE curriculum contributes to the all-round development
                     dance and theatre compulsory for             of learners. The Physical Education Cards (PEC) will be a
 Physical Education  classes 1-5.                                 unique feature for classes 1-5.
 (PE), Performing
                    One learning area from the PA and one         The PA curriculum provides a means for personal
 Arts (PA) and      from the VA (for classes 6-10).               expression, and the articulation of ideas.
 Visual Arts (VA)
                                                                  The VA program aims to promote intellectual, aesthetic and
                                                                  emotional growth.

Note: At the core of the curriculum is an innovative programme called Perspectives, Life Skills, SEWA
(Social Empowerment through Work and Action), Critical Thinking Module and Research project.
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