1. What is the core educational philosophy of the CISCE board and how is it reflected in the daily practices of schools?
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations is committed to serving the nation’s children through high-quality educational endeavours, empowering them to contribute towards a humane, just and pluralistic society, and promoting introspective living by creating exciting learning opportunities with a commitment to excellence.
The daily practices for the affiliated schools are driven by the ethos of CISCE, which allows schools to evolve their own niche while maintaining trust and fair play. Schools are given the freedom to experiment with new ideas and practices to celebrate diversity and plurality, along with motivating all pupils towards the cultivation of excellence in learning and building constitutional and cultural values. The CISCE schools follow the holistic curriculum provided by the board that ensures inclusion and equity in classroom engagement through activity-based learning and multi- modal assessments.
2. What distinguishes the CISCE curriculum from other prevalent boards in India, such as CBSE, IB, and IGCSE?
The curriculum emphasises the all-round development of students. A component of Internal Assessment (Project Work) is an integral part of all subjects at the ICSE level. In addition, at the ICSE level, students are required to compulsorily study a skill-based subject. This provides students with an opportunity to not only acquire knowledge but also learn other essential life skills such as creative thinking and analytical skills, teamwork, communication, public speaking, time management and
critical thinking. The Council makes available a basket of subjects from which the students can select subjects of their choice across the boundaries of Humanities, Commerce and Science, in keeping with their aptitude and ability. The curriculum also focuses on enhancing language proficiency for effective communication, creative writing, and critical thinking.
3. How is CISCE integrating digital learning and enhancing its focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and STEAM (adding Arts to STEM) education?
As part of the digital initiatives, CISCE offers several digital resources through its website. These resources are available for both teachers and students and range from a resource pack on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), a Handbook on
Financial Literacy, and Laboratory Requirements to a detailed syllabus, Analysis of Pupil Performance documents, resource materials on various innovative pedagogies and experiential learning, etc.
To facilitate interest and promote STEM education, the CISCE has recently introduced Robotics and AI as a subject at the ICSE level, which will soon also be introduced at the ISC level. To build readiness in schools towards this newly introduced subject, CISCE has also conducted hands-on teacher training programmes through its Centre of Excellence, Hyderabad.
Integrating multi-disciplinary concepts in project-based learning is actively advocated in the CISCE curriculum to enhance the focus on STEAM education. Additionally, teacher training programmes on Art-Integrated Pedagogy for languages, mathematics and environmental science were also conducted for the Foundational and Preparatory stages.
4. What lessons has the ICSE board learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and what measures have been taken to upskill teachers?
Just like other school education boards, CISCE realised the pivotal role that technology has to play in ensuring access and engagement of learners during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, CISCE conducted a virtual learning
series for students and teachers rationalised the syllabus for examinations and used the internal assessment scores. A series of webinars were conducted on CISCE to build sensitisation and awareness of the relevance and future learning trajectories of newly introduced subjects. Online training for teachers has been an ongoing practice since then, a large number of teachers have been trained in competency-based assessments through the online medium.
5. In the present times, the emotional and psychological well-being of students is a major concern. What are your comments and what initiatives has ICSE taken in this regard?
The well-being of the students has always been the focal point and of utmost importance to CISCE. In light of this, safety guidelines titled “School Safety Manual” were prepared as a management tool intended to offer guidance and practical advice to schools in planning, organising and managing a safe and healthy environment for staff, students, parents, visitors and all stakeholders.
CISCE is also committed to addressing school mental health concerns. In line with this, a number of awareness programmes on School Mental Health: Interventions and Strategies are being planned in collaboration with various organisations including the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore. The school mental health and wellbeing programme aimed to equip various stakeholders with the necessary knowledge and strategies to address mental health concerns among students. The Heads of Schools, School Coordinators and School Counsellors of CISCE-affiliated schools will be benefitted from the program.
Additionally, a training programme on ‘Interventions for Strengthening Child Mental Health & Protection in Schools’ is also being planned for school counsellors in CISCE-affiliated schools in partnership with the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS).
6. There is a growing debate on assessment methods. Is CISCE exploring alternative evaluation techniques to ensure its curriculum remains globally competitive?
CISCE offers multi-modal formative assessments at the school level. The Council has also introduced different kinds of questions to test the higher-order thinking skills in the board examinations. In order to prepare teachers for a strategic shift towards competency-based learning and assessment, CISCE trained a large number of teachers from the middle and secondary stages offline and online. As per the recommendations in the NEP 2020, CISCE had also issued an advisory to all its affiliated schools on introducing innovative pedagogy to build student competencies, along with the introduction of competency-focused questions in school-based assessments. CISCE is also looking at introducing core subjects with varied levels of difficulty.
7. What measures are being taken by the CISCE board to promote inclusivity and diversity within its schools, ensuring equal opportunities for all students?
CISCE has been committed to ensuring equitable access to quality education for all students. For many years, the Council had offered various concessions and support measures to students with disabilities as mandated by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPwD) of 2016.
In light of this, CISCE made a landmark decision to expand the scope of support measures to include learning needs associated with disability conditions not falling under benchmark disability status and Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF). Additionally, several other modifications were made to previously existing measures to ensure a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for all students. The advice of various national-level experts on disability-specific issues was sought, and their insights allowed us to carefully consider modifications and additions to existing measures, ensuring they remain relevant and effective.
8. Has CISCE formed any significant partnerships or collaborations with international educational institutions? If so, could you highlight some of these partnerships and their impact?
With the objective to enlarge the educational capacities and enhance the competencies of school leaders of CISCE-affiliated schools, CISCE collaborated with NIE, Singapore, for School Leadership Training Programmes for School Heads to develop visionary leadership, strategic management and leading innovation. As part of the post-training engagement, groups of schools have collaborated to initiate projects on school and community enrichment. In addition, the event served as a platform for the cross-fertilisation of ideas and promoting further collaborations between schools to enable networking and synergy of efforts.
9. How is CISCE incorporating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its curriculum and school activities?
Reflecting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4, CISCE encourages students with diverse learning needs to achieve the board examination with the support of various benefits and concessions. The excellent performance of the students with
diverse learning needs in the ICSE and ISC board examinations 2024 has proven that CISCE-affiliated schools are providing a learner-friendly and inclusive environment.
The CISCE curriculum, being learner-centred, allows students to choose from a bucket of subjects both at the ICSE and ISC levels to ensure that we support students with different interests and aptitudes. The project-based internal assessment also facilitates non-threatening formative assessments that allow students to perform at their individual levels and teachers to engage with the students as per their individual competencies. Additionally, to build a formative and adaptive assessment culture reflecting inclusivity, CISCE & Comprehensive Measures for Diverse Learning Needs also include students with benchmark disabilities and students in disadvantaged conditions.
10. What is your vision for the CISCE board over the next decade? How do you see it evolving in response to global educational trends and challenges?
By maintaining the unique curricular, pedagogical and assessment practices, CISCE will remain as a progressive, future-focused board and continue to produce capable citizens and global leaders from its affiliated institutions as per the global trends. The adoption of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework- School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 has necessitated systemic reforms within CISCE schools. This will include revisiting school infrastructure, classroom practices, resource allocation, and administrative policies to align with the framework & vision. Emphasis will be placed on promoting inclusive education, reducing learning disparities, and ensuring equitable access to quality education for all students.
The NEP-2020 emphasises a shift from rote learning to competency-based education and assessment. CISCE will continue to revise its assessment practices for all school levels to include a mix of formative and summative assessments that
evaluate students’ conceptual understanding, application skills, and critical thinking abilities. Continuous and comprehensive evaluation of all developmental domains will be integral to the assessment strategy, focusing on the holistic development of students. Adopting the NCF-SE 2023 within the CISCE framework represents a transformative step towards modernising education in India. CISCE will contribute to nurturing competent, creative, and socially responsible citizens by building readiness towards international benchmarking for learning standards in students across India.
