Let’s have a glimpse at how Yashvardhan Biyani – Director of Biyani’s Super 30- looks at the dynamic between ICSE and CBSE boards
To choose CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) or ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) is a question that has always been around the block before picking up the right school for a kid. The dilemma around picking the right board is extremely trivial and one question leads to another because there is no end to delving deeper into what both the systems have to offer.
Founder of Biyani’s Super 30, Yash Biyani highlights crucial aspects about both the boards necessary to get an understanding of what each of them stands for. As he talks about the CBSE board, he highlights how it is one of the oldest, most established boards. With its origins traced back to November 1962, the curriculum of the board is designed for in-depth old-school knowledge and deals with technical proficiency. He further elaborates on how CBSE is extremely important in laying down a strong base while working on an all-round development by not limiting the students to just bookish knowledge, but in fact, it has scope for research and development outside the pages of the book as well.
About ICSE, he quips, how it was established by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate and it imparts the practical knowledge required to apply the derivatives and other theories that have been previously established. He also emphasizes how unlike CBSE, ICSE has everything laid down in a detailed manner in its curriculum. It offers little scope for any external methods to enhance the learning experience.
Talking about contrasts, he also remarks on how ICSE has 10 subjects to work on while CBSE has only 5 subjects and while there is a constant debate about which one holds a stronger position over the other, one must remember that CBSE is recognized by the Indian government while ICSE does not enjoy that leverage. He elaborates on an example by simply mentioning how CBSE helps face competitive exams with the knowledge that comes from practical learning, however, ICSE prepares students to crack MCQ level questions.
For a teacher in CBSE would take the students to the ground to learn about something as simple as heat, and while it does not simplify the process of learning, it gives a student first-hand knowledge, something that lacks in ICSE to a great extent.
When quipped about his take on the better option between the two, Yash Biyani, founder of Biyani’s Super 30, says, “CBSE is better for a teacher to teach, but for our Indian education system, ICSE is the best one in its approach towards objective questioning which is helpful for the science section of most competitive examinations. But again, the pattern of CBSE exams is related to ICSE in many ways, like answering in one word, being smart, that is what an ICSE student does. While CBSE focuses on the overall development of the student, ICSE focuses on the academic development of the student. In CBSE, every kid plays sports and does something new, ICSE limits that bit.”
While one cannot deny how both CBSE and ICSE have their own robust and frail points, a lot depends on the grasping capability of the child and which board is better suited for his development. ICSE and CBSE have a varied learning environment and so, it is the child’s convenience and future that must be taken into account.
Source: The Intellectual Indian
