CBSE- Working towards Stress-free Learning

It is the conviction of CBSE India to make education stress-free for students that has prompted it to take various initiatives to bring about meaningful changes in the current education scenario. This has paved the way for a host of fresh and innovative changes in the age-old education system in India. From introduction of Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation (CCE), completely doing away with class X board exams, to the introduction of a whole new curriculum i.e. CBSE-International curriculum for CBSE schools outside India, CBSE India has done it all. 

To refresh your memory about the series of changes proposed and implemented by CBSE, India here is a list elaborating the same:

• CCE is the ‘in’ thing! To enable student to grow holistically and also to help schools to accurately rate their students in curricular and co-curricular areas, CBSE India has introduced the system of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation. The testing system under CCE encompasses two summative and four formative assessments. Formative assessments assess students understanding during learning through symposiums, classroom quizzes, surprise tests, projects etc. Summative assessments, on the other hand aim to test the conceptual understanding of students through full- length conventional tests. To encourage students to pursue knowledge for its own sake rather than for marks, the system of CCE has also replaced marks with grades.
• Doing away with class X board exams! The one announcement that left everybody happily surprised was the news of optional class X board exams. CBSE India in its initiative to make schooling a stress-free affair decided to completely do away with class X board exams. However, students who still wish to take class X board exams can opt for ‘exams on demand’. Such a flexible system of examinations has removed undue pressure from these young minds.
• Common syllabus for Maths & Science! To give a level playing field to students studying under various boards in India during their engineering & medical entrance exams, CBSE India has proposed the idea of a common syllabus for Maths & Science for class XI & XII across all Boards in India. This change was initiated keeping in mind the needs of students studying different syllabi under the various educational boards in India. To bring students at par, this initiative by CBSE India was lauded by various boards in the country and also got the approval of COBSE. This common syllabus will come into play from the academic session starting 2011.
• Different curriculum for CBSE international schools! To cater to the needs of students studying under CBSE board in countries outside India and provide them with the right course material, CBSE India recently launched an international curriculum. This international curriculum will equip students with learning material that helps them stay abreast with their counterparts in western countries.
• Joint Medical and Engineering entrance exams! CBSE India has recently mooted an idea for single entrance exam for medical and engineering streams. Under this joint entrance exam, Physics and Chemistry paper will be common for both the streams. Students who wish to appear for the engineering entrance exam will have to additionally appear for Maths exam whereas medical students will have to take the Biology exam. However, this idea is just in the proposal stage and the modalities still need to be worked out.

Such changes by CBSE India has certainly made the academic culture more student friendly and has considerably made learning truly an enriching experience.