All ICSE schools in Bengal will be asked to clarify whether their syllabi for classes I to VIII conform to that of the National Education Council, a school education department official said.

The notification will be issued to the state’s 412-odd ICSE schools next week, the official told Metro on Wednesday.

Last month, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had asked the ICSE council to “revoke” its syllabi for classes I to VIII and switch to the curriculum prepared by the national/state education council that is thought to be less taxing for students.

The child rights agency had asked all state governments to take necessary steps in this regard. So, the state school education department has decided to seek clarifications from the ICSE schools, the department official said.

“We were told by the NCPCR in August that most ICSE schools follow a syllabi (classes I to VIII) that do not conform to the national curriculum,” the official said. “Schools will have to switch to the national curriculum as asked by the child rights body.”

The school education department had examined the syllabi followed in some ICSE schools and in most cases the NCPCR’s observation was found to be true, the official said. “The syllabi in ICSE schools do not match the national curriculum.”

He, however, wondered whether the education department could take any “drastic” action against such schools because they are run by private bodies and have their own academic policies.

The NCPCR order had said that the ICSE council syllabi was not endorsed by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) or the State Commission for Educational Research and Training (SCERT).

The council had not complied with the right to education act by following its own syllabi as the act makes it a must for all education boards to follow the syllabi prescribed by the NCERT/SCERT, according to the order.

The act says the “curriculum and the evaluation procedure for elementary education shall be laid down by an academic authority” to be specified by the government by notification. The NCERT/SCERT is the “academic authority” when it comes to prescribing school syllabi, an NCPCR official said.

The decision to ask the ICSE council to “revoke” the syllabi has been taken after examining its curriculum, Priyank Kanoongo, NCPCR chairperson, had said.