CBSE Vision 2012

Updated on: Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Q: How many schools come under the CBSE at present and what is the student strength in class X and XII?

There are around 12,300 schools that come under CBSE out of which 150 schools are from outside India. In class X, there are 11 lakh students and eight lakh in class XII.

Q: What are the recent developments in the CBSE?

CBSE-affiliated schools will now also have to be accredited by the board. Affiliation is different from accreditation. For example, by being affiliated to CBSE, schools are entitled to the necessary infrastructure as per the boards norms and can teach courses that are offered by the board. But as to how a school is using the available infrastructure or if the course being taught is satisfactory or not, comes under accreditation, which will help parents and stakeholders to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of the school. The process of accreditation has already started and we hope to complete it by the end of this year.

Q: What is your agenda for 2012?

Our main agenda for the year is to increasingly involve parents and engage them in planning new initiatives. We want their support and feedback. Parents engagement is important because they are a big resource whose support, advice and feedback would be beneficial.

Q: What kind of flexibility does the board offer to students?

Apart from offering a subject combination of their choice, we are planning to convert the end-term practical exams before the board examinations into either quarterly or six-monthly. This is to help get students more interested in the practicals; with just one practical exam at the end of the year, students do not take it seriously and focus mainly on theory. With the introduction of a number of practical exams throughout the year, students will understand the importance and take them seriously, which will help them. Although this idea is in its planning stage, we plan to implement it soon.

Q: What are the concessions available for differently-abled students?

We believe that every child in his or her own way is unique and important. This is one of the main reasons why we decided to not segregate students with disabilities from the rest.

The CBSE has taken a few steps to eliminate the segregation. We have decided to replace the word disabled for different. This way, a student wont feel segregated and will learn better. S/he would also integrate better with other students.

Another recent development is that CBSE is allowing differently-abled students to take science as a subject if they wish to. This was not allowed earlier since there are practical exams involved in this subject. But from 2012 onwards, for the first time, students of class XI will be able to take science as their subject. As for exams, a multiple-choice question paper will be set for these children. From 2013, students from class XII, too, would be a part of this new development.

Q: Why should students choose CBSE over other boards?

Students should choose a board that offers a good academic grounding along with other co-curricular activities to make them all-rounders. They should not choose a board thinking its tougher or easier than others.

As far as CBSE is concerned, students should go for it because:

1. It offers them a lot of flexibility and does not limit their choice

2. The content of the CBSE curriculum is updated every year by a subject committee, which meets annually to keep the syllabus on a par with the current scenario and weed out outdated syllabi

3. CBSE also offers offbeat subjects like Chinese language, mass media, geo-spatial techniques, among many others, as electives

Q: What are the options for CBSE students if they want to change their board?

If a student decides to change his board after class X, s/he has to appear for class X board exam in order to get the required certificate. However, if a student wishes to continue in CBSE till class XII, he has to appear for class XII board exam directly.

Q: In India, where the classroom size is generally large, how successful is the CCE programme?

Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) was started for students progress. Teachers are trained to identify the strengths and weaknesses of students and then guide and motivate them to do well. It does not mean that one teacher has to deal with each and every student, spending hours.

They have to understand their psychology by dividing them into small groups and then guide them accordingly. The CBSE is training the teachers and they are responding well to the training and requirements of the CCE.

Times of India

CBSE Vision 2012

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