CHOOSING THE RIGHT BOARD FOR YOUR CHILD – IGCSE VS CBSE VS ICSE

The need to prepare children with global knowledge and abilities has increased due to the modern world’s ever-expanding global scope, in order to generate genuinely “global citizens.” As a result, choosing an educational path today involves more than just picking a school or a stream—you also need to choose a board. It has turned into a virtual marketplace with so many options to pick from, including CBSE, CISCE, Cambridge, and IB, making the decision process fairly difficult.

Do not worry; we are here to assist in making the decision between the IB, IGCSE, ICSE, and CBSE. There are many schools for all types of boards like IB, ICSE, CBSE, and IGCSE otherwise called Cambridge board schools in Chennai. The following are the key features that set the four major boards in the Indian domain apart:

Number of Schools

Over 16,000 schools from 25 different nations are associated with CBSE, making it without a doubt the most well-known board in India. The total for the CISCE board (ICSE/ISC) in India is around 2213 schools. On the other side, 141 schools in India provide the IB curriculums, with around 118 of them offering the IBDP. The Cambridge Advanced curriculum is being used in more than 310 schools in India, making it more popular than the IB thus far.

Focus and Method

The CBSE has taken a more conventional approach, placing more emphasis on knowledge assimilation, particularly in the subjects of math and science. Languages are less important because the curriculum is more or less geared toward preparing students for engineering and medical entrance exams. Extracurricular activities are also not given much attention, and students are urged to focus on their coursework and exams instead.

The CISCE, IB, and Cambridge Advanced curricula, on the other hand, take a more all-encompassing approach and give equal weight to the humanities, sciences, mathematics, and languages. Their strategy is much broader, emphasizing the value of overall development rather than only concentrating on information gathering and exams.

Subjects

CBSE- It offers the pupils pre-set topic combinations arranged into various “streams.” As a result, the subject combinations are limited and only apply to one single sector, like science, business, or the humanities. The selection of the fifth subject is the lone area of flexibility. For instance, a student choosing the Commerce track would be required to take Economics, Accounts, Business Studies, and English. For the fifth topic, he or she can select from a variety of possibilities, including physical education, mathematics, informative practices, etc.

CISCE: It uses the same stream structure as CBSE but increases the content and rigor of the studies. Additionally, English and Socially Useful Productive Work are two additional disciplines that are required of all students (SUPW).

IB: It provides students with extensive knowledge and experience in the subjects of their choice. There is a lot of versatility because there are 6 different topic groups available to the students, and they must select one from each. Additionally, the DP core consists of three required subjects: Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay, and Creativity Action Service (CAS) (TOK).

The students at Cambridge Advanced have a choice of 70 distinct topic selections. Students are free to select any disciplines they want to study; there are no set groupings or subject combinations. Depending on the sort of diploma the student chooses, certain subjects, such as Global Perspective, Research, etc., and A-levels must be completed. 

Criteria for Evaluation

The CBSE grades pupils based on their memorization, retention, and learning skills. Rote learning is prioritized over comprehension and knowledge. The remaining three boards, on the other hand, all place an emphasis on knowledge, skill development, comprehension, and its application.

Level of Complexity/Difficulty

Compared to the other three boards, CBSE has fewer courses and a higher scoring system, which reduces its degree of difficulty. Less emphasis is placed on teaching the details of the concepts and more on how to apply the knowledge.

English Core, which is taught at CISCE and is thought to be far more advanced than CBSE, is particularly hard and teaches ideas at a higher level than CBSE. Additionally, because responses are scored more strictly, on average, CISCE students perform less than CBSE pupils.

IB- The IB curriculum is significantly more difficult and demanding than the other two Indian boards since students are evaluated continuously throughout the year on a wide range of factors. There is a strong emphasis on internal assessment, which keeps the students on their toes throughout the year. Quizzes, essays, portfolios, and assignments are used to grade pupils.

Cambridge Advanced—Because it was created by the University of Cambridge, it is also regarded as an extremely difficult and demanding curriculum. Instead of placing emphasis on students’ grades, it places emphasis on the expansion of their knowledge base. In addition to the written exams, assessments are made to gauge students’ speaking and problem-solving abilities.

Textbooks

Students are obliged to use the texts and curricula that are provided by CBSE and CISCE. IB, on the other hand, doesn’t specify any set texts and gives students more latitude in this area by suggesting readings. The Cambridge Advanced program offers both required texts and suggested readings.

Final Thoughts

Here are the main distinctions between the four most popular curricula in India: CBSE, ICSE, IB, and IGCSE. We trust that you now have enough knowledge to decide on your child’s education in a wise and productive manner.

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