Bangalore: Sweeping changes are on the anvil in the Council for The Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board rules and curriculum. The changes will come into effect from April 2010.
To begin with, a new subject, English Speaking and Listening Skills, will be introduced for high school students in grades IX, X and XI.
“We follow the highest standards in teaching English. Now we intend to help improve the speaking and listening skills of students. This subject will be compulsory and assessed internally,” said Gerry Arathoon, additional secretary and officiating chief executive and secretary of the CISCE.
The CISCE oversees imparting of secondary education up to grade XII.The board conducts Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) exam for grade X, and Indian School Certificate (ISC) exams for grade XII.
There are around 1,730 schools affiliated to the CISCE in the country. The board has 123 ICSE schools and 18 ISC-affiliated schools in the state.
From the next academic year, students who fail in the second language in the 10th board exam need not write supplementary exams to be promoted to the 11th grade.
“Earlier children had to clear a supplementary exam in 10th grade if they had failed in the second language, to be promoted to the 11th grade. Now, if they were to fail in that subject, they need not take the supplementary exam,” he added.
Another major change being planned is to merge environment education with other subjects. The authorities clarified that till 2012, environment education will continue to be taught as a separate subject; it will be merged with other subjects from 2013.
Arathoon was speaking on the sidelines of the 88th Annual National Conference of the Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools in India being held in the city.
Asked if CISCE will go the CBSE way, making 10th board exams optional, Arathoon stated, “We will not make the 10th board exams optional. At the COBSE (Council of Boards of School Education India) meeting where the CBSE decision was discussed, all boards were unanimous in stating that they don’t want to make board exams optional. We will wait and watch to see how CBSE implements this policy.”
The reasoning behind not making exams optional is to help students prepare for important exams later in life. “Students need to be exposed to the examination system. Parents will also agree with this decision, as school exams are not taken seriously by students. Writing board exams in 10th grade will help them be better prepared for the 12th board exams too,” Arathoon added.
The board has also announced plans to have a centralised marking scheme and a modernisation drive to have online registration of ICSE and ISC students for board examinations.
Jayalakshmi Venugopal / DNA
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 8:08 IST
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