Jamshedpur, Aug. 6: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which conducts ICSE and ISC examinations, is planning to focus on application-based education, reducing rote learning, from 2017 academic session.
In the steel city to attend the inaugural session of the silver jubilee function of ICSE-affiliated Motilal Nehru Public School at Sakchi, CISCE chief executive-cum-secretary Gerry Arathoon said the proposed changes would get reflected in the curriculum being revamped across the board right from the pre-nursery level to Class XII.
"We want to reduce rote learning and inculcate the habit of application-based education in students from the 2017 academic session to make studies fun. Currently, our Research Development and Consultancy Division (RDCD) in Calcutta is brainstorming on this. We want to see our students learn through applications, for which we are preparing worksheets for teachers in different subjects. At this moment, I cannot give out the details as it is in the discussion stage," Arathoon told The Telegraph.
The council is taking inputs from NCERT as well as experts abroad for framing application-based concepts. "We are exploring different avenues, using available resources and taking help from experts to come up with an effective syllabus," he added.
The senior official also offered some good news for students keen to play sports. "We are seriously considering giving weightage in terms of marks to students who excel in different types of sports. The exact nature of weightage for sports achievers will be decided in our executive committee meeting soon. In fact, some boards are already doing it, and we will certainly like to provide some encouragement to budding sportspersons," said Arathoon.
There are 2,157 ICSE-affiliated schools across the country, including around 120 in Jharkhand. This year, around 4,000 students had appeared for the ISC (Class XII) exams while 10,000 had written the ICSE exams in the state.
The council chief expressed unhappiness over the "no-detention" policy till Class VIII under the RTE Act. "We have come to know that the HRD ministry is also not happy with the no-detention policy. As a board, we will highlight the flaws of the no-detention policy during the meeting of Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE) to be held in November in Calcutta," he said.
COBSE is a voluntary association of all the boards of schools in India and works in close collaboration with the Union HRD ministry and other apex education organisations.
