How to chose?

There are no right or wrong decisions, there are only choices, and with every choice comes an opportunity.  Your choices change as you develop and grow.  Everyone tends to make the best decision with the information they have at that moment. Many people follow non-linear career paths due to the unpredictable circumstances that influence their path. These twists and turns can look chaotic on the surface, but if you dig a bit, you’ll often find that the person was able to take lessons and skills from one circumstance and transfer them successfully to another—by being flexible and open to change.

The nature of Board Exams are changing every year... where are we heading?

The current structure of Board Examinations force students to concentrate only on a few subjects at the expense of others, preventing a truly holistic development. Specialisation is forced upon students early on, and an unnatural and early streaming and partitioning of students into science, arts, or commerce is the result. The desired flexibility for students to choose a wide range of courses across fields throughout secondary school and beyond is prevented by such early specialisation. But our education policy has taken upon itself to change all of this, and slowly but surely, all the boards are implementing this change. It will take some time for all changes to be implemented but it is worth looking at where we are heading as a system.

• Grades 9 - 12 as one unit 

By the age of 14, i.e., Grade 9, adolescents begin to think about their life plans; schooling at this stage must incorporate preparation for university, for the world of work, and for life. These 4 years will be split into 8 semesters. 

• 40+ Semester Based Courses 

A semester-based system, which allows exposure to a multitude of subjects at differing levels, will be of great benefit to students at this stage. ( 5 courses per semester x 8 semesters =  40 courses). All students will have the opportunity to engage deeply in the arts and humanities as well as in the study of the sciences and social sciences. All students will also have the opportunity of developing both kinds of capacities as vocational courses will be integral part of formal curriculum 

• Increased flexibility in choice of subjects

Students will be free to design their own paths of study and life plans for continued holistic development. Board exams will be made available for a wide variety of subjects. Out of the 40+ semester courses in the 4 years from grade 9 to grade 12 out of which there could be Board Exams for 24 courses.

• Modular Board Examinations

Students will be able to take a Board examination in a given subject in whichever semester they take the corresponding class in school, i.e., whenever they feel most ready; and they should be able to take any such subject Board Examination again if they feel they can study and do better. These exams will replace in-school final exams

• Reduce curriculum content

Make space for more holistic, experiential, discussion-based, and analysis-based learning. Board Examinations should be made “easier”, in the sense that they test primarily core capacities and  rather than months of coaching and memorisation. 

• Standard and Advanced options for Subjects

As part of Systemic Reforms, National Curriculum Framework 2005, Boards will continue to offer more and more subjects at multiple levels of difficulty. The Board is already doing this for Mathematics. Many circulars in this regard keep coming from time to time.

Today you can select 5 subjects for the CBSE Boards. You will be learning each selected subject for 2 years.

In reality many more subjects appeal to our students.  Science subjects help them develop a solid understanding of how the natural and social worlds work. With Humanities they learn to see the larger picture when making strategies or decisions.  They enhance their creativity by taking  benefit of some ART courses. Senior school is a perfect time to get yourself introduced to emerging new fields and be able to choose study courses wisely at university level. 

“Technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with the liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our hearts sing.” - Steve Jobs