Summary
The choice will help science students who want to pursue an easier English course and focus more on the core interests
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations will offer at least two levels of English and math in ISC (Classes XI and XII) so students can opt for a less rigorous course if they want to.
The choice will help science students who want to pursue an easier English course and focus more on the core interests. It will also help students who want to retain basic math at the Plus II level even if they are not keen on pursuing science.
The council plans to roll out the changes in 2025-26 or 2026-27.
“There will be two options in English: communicative English, where the focus will be on the applications part of the language, and the other will be language and literature. The choice is with schools and students. For those looking for medical and engineering, for them the communicative (English) approach could be more beneficial. Those who plan to do undergraduate in English, legal studies or humanities, for them language and literature may be more beneficial,” Joseph Emmanuel, chief executive and secretary of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), told Metro on Monday.
Emmanuel was responding to a question from this newspaper about the exodus of students at the Plus II level from CISCE schools in the city. Several schools have said in the past that a section of students migrates to CBSE or international curriculums
after Class X.
“There is a wrong notion or apprehension that the CISCE syllabus is very tough or that any other board’s syllabus is more tuned to cracking entrance examinations,” Emmanuel told this newspaper.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the CISCE National Pre-Subroto Cup tournament at the AIFF National Centre for Excellence Football Ground, New Town.
“The CISCE curriculum is very strong but there are some representations that I have received from many schools across the country that the language standard maintained in the CISCE is very high. So children are not able to focus on science, mathematics and other areas,” he said.
“In order to address that issue we are coming out with communicative language approach, so that the burden of children to clear language and literature will be considerably reduced. Communicative English as an alternative to language and literature.... Similarly, we are revamping the whole curriculum to fine-tune it with international standards, which in a way will help children crack entrance exams.”
In communicative English, the focus will be on application skills such as letter writing and business communication, he said.
Similarly, in math, there will be two levels — standard and applied or business math.
Students opting for pure science or engineering will be pursuing standard math, he said. The students in the humanities, commerce or biomedical stream can opt for applied or business math. “The focus (in the two courses) will be different,” said Emmanuel.
In ISC, the council now offers compulsory English, which has two papers, and a common math curriculum for all streams.
Several teachers said two levels of English might dilute the standard in English the council is known for.
Emmanuel said: “English will remain our USP and a forte. But every child need not have the same skill set in English. CISCE, being a progressive and forward looking board, is aiming to provide learning opportunity as per the needs of the learner or the choice of the learner.”
The council will also introduce other measures that it believes would arrest the exodus of students to other boards — providing counselling and after-school programmes to help crack entrance exams.
“We will allow schools to provide extra facilities to their students to prepare for various competitive entrance examinations, in an after-school programme. It can be online or offline,” Emmanuel said.
“We will support our schools in achieving the career goals of their students. There will be career counselling as well as psychological counselling of students.”
Such choices will be provided in other subjects in the future, he said.
Seema Sapru, the principal of The Heritage School, which offers the international curriculum along with the ISC/ICSE course, said the international boards offer four or three levels of math.
“It (the CISCE measure) would help the children because everybody does not have the same ability,” said Sapru.
Last updated on 23 Jul 2024
