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1396445225education Boards Comparison
1396445225education Boards Comparison
Education Boards: What are CBSE, ICSE, IB and State Boards in India?
(A) CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education):
1. It comes under the Union Government of India. It is a board of education
for public and private schools. It was formed in 1962. CBSE is the most
popular board in India; more than 9000 schools in India follow CBSE.
2. Started by 'NCERT' to operate central schools like Kendriya Vidhyalayas
and was later adopted by many private schools.
3. Most of the schools across the country are affiliated to CBSE, the board
recognized by the Government. Students studying in schools affiliated to
CBSE gather good exposure to knowledge of their subjects.
4. The board conducts final examinations every spring for 'All India Senior
School Certificate Examination' (AISSCE) for Class 10 and 12.
5. The board also annually conducts the AIEEE exam for admission to
undergraduate courses in Engineering and Architecture in numerous colleges
spread over India. It also conducts AIPMT (All India Pre Medical Test) for
admission to major medical colleges in India.
(B) ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education):
1. It is an examination conducted by CISCE, a private, non-governmental
board of school education in India. ICSE board is popular for its vast and
more comprehensive and complete pattern.
2. Focuses on the overall development of the students. Students develop
practical knowledge of the subjects they learn. Beneficial for students who
wish to go abroad for higher studies as it is recognized by many universities
and countries across the globe.
3. ICSE was first established by the 'Local Examinations Syndicate' of the
University of Cambridge that existed during the British regime.
4. Syllabus followed by ICSE schools differs vastly from that followed in CBSE
schools in terms of content and volume.
5. The board conducts an ICSE examination towards the end of tenth grade
and an Indian School Certificate (ISC) examination towards the end of twelfth
grade.
(C) IB (International Baccalaureate):
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1. Students get to learn more about their personal self and ethics such as
team work and leadership as they undertake projects regularly.
2. Students also get to learn additional languages which are very beneficial
for them in the long run.
3. International Baccalaureate (IB) is an 'International Educational Foundation'
headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. As the name suggests, it is more
internationally accepted and follows a different teaching methodology.
4. It was founded in 1968 and works with more than a million students, 3696
schools and in 147 countries.
5. IB board provides an opportunity to a student to engage in an in-depth
study of a topic of interest within a chosen subject.
(D) State:
1. State Boards are Boards undertaken by individual State Governments in
the states of India. Each state follows its own syllabus and grading strategy.
2. Study of the regional language and culture is encouraged and practiced.
State board examinations are referred to as Madhayamik for Secondary State
Certificate and Higher Secondary Certificate examinations.
3. Easier than other boards and does not focus on competency for entrance
examinations of medical and engineering.
4. Each state board has some variance from NCERT syllabus and focuses on
local state education.
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2. CBSE content is very science and math focused with lot of attention paid to
application of knowledge.
3. Emphasis is more on good quality of education that promotes intellectual
and social spirits in students, rather than practical education.
4. Entire syllabus is divided into units and every unit is allotted a period,
required to cover it in the year. Syllabus is also spread in the weightage of
marks it will carry in the examination.
(B) ICSE:
1. ICSE has equal focus on science, arts and language, especially English. It
encourages students to choose across diverse topics/subjects for their Class12 exam.
2. Syllabus followed is more comprehensive and complete, which gives all the
fields an equal importance like science, math, language, arts, home science
etc.
3. It has more balanced Syllabus for childs overall growth by providing
students with more practical knowledge and better analytical skills.
4. Prepares the students for studies abroad due to similarities of its course
structure with many international curriculums.
(C) IB:
1. It focuses on holistic learning, intercultural awareness and enhancement of
communication skills. More importance is given to languages, arts and
humanities at a higher level.
2. It has international curriculum where subjects are taught in an integrated
way in order to avoid a fragmented approach. IB has a different approach
where there are no or few textbooks. Students are free to explore the world.
3. It's main focus is on 'how to learn' rather than 'what to learn'. Students
under IB have slight advantage in exams like CAT, SAT and GRE because of
their better analytical skills.
4. The examinations test student's knowledge and not their memory and
speed.
(D) State:
1. State board syllabus is designed by the 'Department of Education' of the
concerned State Government.
2. Every state board has its own educational approach which implies that the
syllabus varies for every state in India.
3. Emphasis is more on state level topics and content of local relevance.
4. State boards are very much theoretical and due to their focus on local
relevance, they help students in preparing for state level entrance exams.
1. CBSE syllabus is easier, compared to other boards but still needs hard
work.
2. Due to fewer subjects, it is least burdening among all the boards.
(B) ICSE Board Difficulty level: Tough
1. Relatively tougher than CBSE and other boards.
2. On an average, a person scoring 85% in ICSE is equivalent to a person
scoring 90% in CBSE. Some universities even follow this 5% differential
approach.
(C) IB Board Difficulty level: Tough
1. The IB curriculum is more challenging than educational boards like the
CBSE and ICSE.
2. There are regular quizes and assignments which keep the students busy
throughout.
(D) State Board Difficulty Level: Easy
1. The complexities of state board depend from state to state.
2. Usually state boards are tougher and stricter than CBSE.
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3. Each state has its own board of education that conducts certificate
examination for class 10 and class 12. Some state boards, such as Rajasthan
board conducts exams in class 8 also.
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e) Electives (it can be either Visual Arts or any subject from the above
three options).
(D) State:
1. Students have choose subjects from the following options: English, Hindi,
Urdu, Punjabi, Assami, Bangla, Kannada, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu,
Accountancy, Business and correspondence Economics, Physics, Chemistry,
Math, Kannada, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Accountancy, Business and
correspondence Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Math, Biology, Political
Science, History, Economics, Geography, Vocal music, Instrumental music
and dance, painting, stitching, Agriculture and Home science.
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(A) CBSE:
1. If focusing mainly on entrance examinations after class 12th like IIT, AIEEE
etc., then go for CBSE. It gives a student enough time and knowledge to
appear for the entrance examinations after class 12th, as most entrance
examinations are based on CBSE pattern.
2. Overall, it comes a close second after ICSE, but many prefer this board
because it is easily available in India. For students whose parents are in
transferable jobs should choose CBSE over state boards as CBSE offers
continuity of curriculum across India.
(B) ICSE:
1. If looking for an overall grooming and development, then ICSE should be
the first choice. But, because of its extensive syllabus, it falls behind CBSE, if
classes 11th and 12th are specifically taken into consideration.
2. If looking for more application based syllabus that equips students with the
ability to think out of the box then ICSE is a better option.
(C) IB:
1. IB board is not preferred due to the scarcity of schools following it in India.
Focuses on the overall development of the students, but it does not fit with the
other Indian Boards and therefore if not very useful in India because neither
its syllabus nor its result match with any of national entrance exam in India.
2. This is an option for those who wish to study abroad or whose parents are
transferred globally.
(D) State:
1. The syllabus is comparatively simpler, hence, making it easier for students
to get ahead. But state boards need to focus more on the practical aspect of
the subjects that are taught.
2. If one aims for a specific state level competition exam, then state board
may be opted.
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