The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will, from April 1, launch an international “child-centric” curriculum that is more flexible than the existing syllabus.
The curriculum will help Indian students get admission in foreign universities and facilitate admission for those wanting to study in India.
“Soft-diplomacy”
Being described as “soft diplomacy,” “reaching out” and building a brand, the new CBSE (International) curriculum will be implemented in class I and class IX from next month and extended to all classes in the next three years.
“The CBSE is working out some system of examination that would qualify students for seeking admission in universities, though assessment will be based on continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE), the grading system adopted in the Indian schools,” CBSE chairperson Vineet Joshi told journalists here on Monday.
While the basic syllabus would be based on the guidelines of the National Curriculum Framework-2005 and the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), there would be more flexibility in the courses that would focus on world geography and regional issues would be given more space, Mr. Joshi said.
25 schools identified
As many as 25 schools, mainly from Oman, Qatar, Dubai, Muscat, Singapore and the Gulf region that were following the CBSE curriculum, were identified for adopting the international courses, though 45 schools had expressed their willingness to adopt the new stream.
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal held a meeting with the principals of these 25 schools here.
Trained Indian teachers will be sent to help these schools put the new course in place.
Each school will have to pay Rs.2.5 lakh for affiliating with the international system, against Rs.6 lakh charged by the International Baccalaureate (IB) Geneva-based system and the International General Certificate of Secondary Education affiliated to the Cambridge University.
