CBSE or ICSE – Which board to choose for a better career?

Split in several levels like primary, secondary and senior secondary; the school education in India follows a multifaceted model. While the secondary and senior secondary levels are crucial to the development of a child's careeristic goals, the ongoing debate regarding the accreditation standard of different schools and boards of education are vital concerns of parents.

The Indian education system offers a wide choice of boards to choose from. These include state boards, Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate for Secondary Education (ICSE), Secondary School Leaving Certificate, National Open School, International Baccalaureate and International General Certificate of Secondary Education. Off these CBSE and ICSE being the most sought after, the article provides vivid details regarding the various factors prompting parents to enroll their children in either of the two.

Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE)

An eminent board of school education in India, CBSE prepares syllabus and conducts the All India Secondary School Examination for the 10th standard and the All India Senior School Certificate Examination for the 12th standard. Its syllabus is suitable for clearing various entrance examinations such as the All India Engineering Entrance Examination or Pre-medical and Pre-dental Tests that are also conducted by the board. Many private as well as government schools across India and different parts of the world are affiliated to CBSE. It allows education in either Hindi or English. 

Indian Certificate for Secondary Education (ICSE)

Designed to offer general education in keeping with the recommendations of the New Education Policy 1986 (India), ICSE follows the medium of English. The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination conducts the Indian Certificate for Secondary Education and Indian School Certificate examinations for 10th and 12th standard respectively.

ICSE and CBSE - A comparison

There are many differences between the curriculums of the two boards.

- The first difference lies in the medium of instruction. While CBSE prescribes both Hindi and English, ICSE recommends only English.

- CBSE has the recognition of the Indian government unlike ICSE that lacks the same. Thus, CBSE enjoys a greater national privilege and is apt for children of parents with transferable jobs. ICSE on the contrary is internationally acclaimed and hence beneficial while shifting abroad for further studies.

- ICSE restrains private candidatures from appearing in examinations while CBSE entertains both regular and private examination candidates.

- While CBSE has an objective oriented syllabus, ICSE prescribes a detailed syllabus.

- ICSE makes Environmental Education compulsory for students which is not so for CBSE.

- Internal assessments and practical tests count much in case of ICSE unlike the CBSE mode of evaluation.

- CBSE lays emphasis on Math and Science than theoretical subject matter. It thus resorts to a problem solving methodology with an intensive syllabus and is good for cracking most Indian competitive exams.

- ICSE focuses on theoretical studies and follows an extensive syllabus. It is liberal and provides multiple options of subjects like home science, agriculture, fashion design, cookery etc to choose from.

Thus, we can conclude that while CBSE candidates with an intensive background of studies might face difficulty in shifting to ICSE at a higher level, ICSE students could easily cope with the CBSE syllabus due to their extensive knowledge of different subjects.