NATIONAL VS INTERNATIONAL

Schools affiliated to international boards have spread even to tier-two towns. How do they compare with national education boards?

- Aeshwarya Tiwari

Vineet Singh and Bhooma Hukmani from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, decided to move their twins, Vir and Avni Hukmani, from a school affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to an international school offering the Cambridge 'A' level when they reached its equivalent in India, Class 11.

"We decided to shift them from CBSE as we saw their inclination towards more practical education rather than the more theoretical approach in CBSE. We want the children to be globally qualified and not geographically bound," said Hukmani. "The Cambridge system allows education in their focus interest areas versus a large generic curriculum elsewhere. It allows for honing their skills in their interest areas which are business studies and allows them to amplify their talents and passions like gaming and art to prepare them for more holistic growth." When Rajeev Sharma's son, Gaurang, completed Class 10 in a CBSE school, he had planned to move him to an international curriculum for Classes 11 and 12 but eventually dropped the idea. Gaurang Sharma wants to write the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), the common exam for college admissions in central universities, and felt the CBSE curriculum was more relevant for national examinations.

With the rapid spread of international schools or regular schools with sections affiliated to international boards parents now have a choice to make at the senior secondary level - Classes 11 and 12. Informing those choices is a range of factors including curriculum quality, cost and higher education options.

CBSE Vs international boards