CBSE-Affiliated Schools abroad will have an International Syllabus

NEW DELHI: Taking the first step towards giving the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) an international character, the HRD ministry has decided that from the next academic session CBSE-affiliated schools abroad will have an international syllabus.

Even CBSE schools in India will be free to introduce this syllabus. While no change will be brought in the mathematics and science syllabus, language and social science will undergo complete change. The new syllabus is likely to be finalized within a month.

“The idea is to model CBSE on the lines of International Baccalaureate (IB). There will be stress on activity-based learning,” a ministry official said.

The new international syllabus for class I and IX will be introduced in the next academic session. Then, every year the syllabus for new classes will be introduced.

There are CBSE-affiliated schools in many West and South Asian countries mostly started by Indians there. It was felt that students in these schools are unable to compete internationally by studying an India-centric syllabus. “Therefore, it was felt that CBSE should become international,” the official said.

Explaining the change, the official said there is no point in only teaching Indian history to CBSE schools abroad. “The emphasis should be on local and world history. Also why should only Indian languages be taught in schools outside India,” the official said, adding it would be an altogether separate curriculum.

However, the existing syllabus will continue in CBSE schools in India. It is expected that slowly even Indian schools will switch over to the international syllabus.