The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which conducts ICSE and ISC examinations, is revamping its syllabi from pre-nursery to Class VIII, which will be followed uniformly by all schools affiliated to it from the next academic session.

CISCE chief executive and secretary Gerry Arathoon said this to the media at a Ranchi hotel on Thursday.

Arathoon is in the state capital for attending the 29th regional conference of the Association of Schools for the Indian School Certificate (ASISC), Bihar and Jharkhand region. The theme of the two-day conference is Navigating Change.

"Our schools have already started following from the current session the same syllabi for science stream (Classes XI and XII) as approved by the Council of Boards of School Education in India (the apex body of the country's school examination boards). This syllabus is followed by many other school boards of the country, including CBSE," Arathoon added.

The new syllabus for Plus Two is only for science subjects like physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology. Humanities and commerce students are following the old curriculum.

"It is a misconception that only CBSE syllabi are aligned with those of various entrance tests for medical and engineering studies," Arathoon said when asked why so many students shift to CBSE schools after clearing ICSE examination at Class X.

"We have not only changed the science syllabi, but also designed study materials for distribution among the students so that they don't have to turn to coaching centres for guidance for cracking such entrance examinations," he added.

Asked if schools affiliated to their council would be able to retain high standard with the syllabi change, Arathoon cited a sample survey conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which said that ICSE schools outperformed their counterparts from other boards in achievement level in five major subjects - English, mathematics, science, social science and modern Indian languages.

"Many such changes are taking place and we are here to discuss how we can prepare ourselves to serve our students in the best possible way," Father Ajit Xess, principal of St Xavier's School, Ranchi, and ASISC regional secretary, said about the ongoing conference that is being attended by 236 school principals from Bihar and Jharkhand.

"We will also discuss other matters like organising regional competitions for selecting students for the national level contest," added C.A. Francis, principal of Ranchi's St Anthony's School.