Summary
Arathoon was addressing parents, students and teachers at the foundation day of The Heritage School. It was also the senior school prize day
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) is exploring possibilities of collaboration with boards in the UK, Australia, Singapore and Finland, said the head of the council, Gerry Arathoon.
“The CISCE is a child-friendly and child-centric board. CISCE is exploring possibilities of collaborating with international boards and agencies in the UK, Australia, Singapore and Finland on joint certification, vocational education and training, capacity building and leadership development,” Arathoon, chief executive and secretary of the CISCE, said on Sunday.
Arathoon was addressing parents, students and teachers at the foundation day of The Heritage School. It was also the senior school prize day.
Arathoon later told The Telegraph that such collaborations would help students enrol in institutions abroad.
“It will help students get admitted easily abroad. No doubt they are getting admitted now... but the toppers are getting admitted. We are looking at other students as well,” he said on the sidelines of the programme.
“We need to follow the best practices from all over the world,” he told this newspaper.
In his address, Arathoon said the CISCE is the only private national education board in the country and has been serving the student community for the last 65 years.
“A single dedicated goal is to provide good quality education to our children, who are our major stakeholders,” said Arathoon.
Arathoon also addressed the issue of parents shifting their children from the CISCE to the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) after Class X (ICSE).
“I can’t understand why some of our parents and some of our students decide to choose CBSE for Class XI and XII.... I fail to understand because the curriculum is the same,” he said.
Arathoon said if the CBSE prepares students for the JEE, NEET and other competitive exams, so does the CISCE.
“It’s just a misnomer in the minds of parents and children. The number of schools affiliated to the CBSE is much more (than those affiliated to the council),” he said. A large number of CBSE students crack the competitive exams because of the sheer number of schools affiliated to the board, hesaid.
ISC (Class XII) students, Arathoon said, do better than students of other boards but are fewer in number because of fewer schools affiliated to the CISCE.
“That is the reason the public cannot see for themselves which board is doing the best,” he said.
Arathoon said many students from the CISCE enrol in foreign universities such as Stanford and Oxford.
“...CISCE prepares your students not only for competitive exams in this country but also prepares your students for entrance exams and admission in foreign universities,” Arathoon said.
The principal of The Heritage School, Seema Sapru, read out the principal’s report and highlighted the students’ academic achievements as well as their successes in sports and other extracurricular activities.
“For some years we have been noticing that a few of our students from the science stream are leaving our school and joining a CBSE school in Class XI. We have a long queue of students from other institutions, but even if one student leaves us, that is a concern for us,” Sapru told this newspaper.
Last updated on 26 Jun 2023
