Confusion over CBSE curriculum

Pilot scheme aimed at improving education in Indian schools has caused utter chaos

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3 MIN READ

Dubai: Students and parents continue to express doubts over the effectiveness of the recently-introduced Central Board of Secondary Education — International curriculum in some Indian schools, one of which has withdrawn it from the next academic year.

Parents whose children have studied the curriculum for the last two years claim it is not what was promised.
They say that while the idea is good, there was a lack of coordination between schools and the board on its implementation.

“There was utter chaos, students were not provided with study material until December and in case of languages some chapters were taught and some were not. There was confusion until the last minute,” said Liz Joseph, mother of a 10th Grade student who studied the curriculum.

CBSE-I was introduced in 2010 for Grade 9 and Grade 1 and was continued for Grade 10 and 2 the following year.

Among the schools that adopted the syllabus were Indian High School, GEMS Millennium School and Our Own Indian School, Al Quoz, which recently announced it will withdraw its use because of demand from students and parents.

Some parents believe the curriculum itself is not faulty, but the grade it was introduced at.

“First of all the board didn’t seem to have the resources and wasn’t prepared to introduce it at a higher level, that is where the problem arose,” said parent Uma Shankar.

“They shouldn’t have introduced it to 9th and 10th grades because it is difficult to adopt a new system at such a higher level. It was unjust both on the parts on teachers as well as students.”

The idea of the move was to initiate a broad-based system where teachers would not teach a subject but facilitate the process of learning.

But parents say there was no clear guidance on what ‘facilitating’ meant, while others claimed teachers lacked the adequate training to implement the scheme at the higher levels.
A teacher, who requested anonymity, agreed.
“There was a general lack of coordination and it was frustrating for us,” the teacher said.

“The board was not clear in its vision, and it lacked direction. They shouldn’t have introduced it in 9th and 10 grades.”

GEMS Education, which operates Our Own Indian School, confirmed it is discontinuing the curriculum at one of its schools while continuing it at another.
“Two of our schools were involved in the initial trial of CBSE-I two years ago,” David Wilson, director of Asian schools and chief academic officer for India at GEMS Education, told Gulf News.

“Challenges with the change meant that some of the older students faced potential disadvantage as they approached their Board exams, which was of great concern to their parents.

“Responding to these concerns and respecting the professional judgment of our excellent Principals, it has been decided to continue the CBSE-I in one school only, The Millennium School, Dubai.”

However, he agreed there were some general teething problems with training and preparation as there always is with such a change.

He also acknowledged the effort required to make the change was underestimated by CBSE and that difficulties with supporting material were known.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Darwish, Chief of the Regulations and Compliance Commission at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), said that since the school was piloting the new curriculum, there was no question of it being discontinued or changed.
“The pilot project was given a go-ahead,” he said.

“Schools requesting for any changes in the KHDA Educational Services Permit must provide a justification for the same and provide details of the new curriculum chosen.
“KHDA then studies the proposed changes and judges its suitability from a student perspective and in general for the educational landscape in the Emirate.
“Right now only one school is implementing the CBSE-I curriculum.”
 

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