KIIT International School in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, March 27: The international curriculum introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has been gaining good response in the city.

With the number of schools that are going ‘international’ steadily on the rise, CBSE-I programme, a global curriculum for students, was rolled out in 2012-13.

The aim of the programme is to increase the choices of students opting for higher studies abroad and it also attempts to deliver education with a global outlook to overseas Indian students as well as relate to local issues and culture. At least two schools in the city have already introduced the curriculum and a few others are planning to apply for the same. The Sai International School and the KIIT International School are the first to offer the curriculum in Bhubaneswar.

“There is a big rush towards international curriculum. It becomes especially important during these times with young parents travelling around for work reasons. The curriculum has a global approach and makes it flexible for the students,” said chairman of the school Bijoy Kumar Sahoo.

“Moreover, the entire curriculum is taught through e-books and is thus easier for the parents. Besides, it is much more affordable than the other international curriculum offered by foreign boards such as International Baccalaureate and International General Certificate of Secondary Education,” said Sahoo.

“Many students want to go abroad for higher studies after Class XII, which is why they opt for the international course. Moreover, unlike the national curriculum, which consisted of three streams — science, humanities and commerce — the international curriculum consists of languages, performing arts, visual arts, physical education, social science, life skills, research projects, sciences and mathematics,” said Sanjay Suar, principal of KIIT International School.

Authorities in these schools said that they showed presentations to students in order to convince them about the merits of the new curriculum and help them make an informed decision.

CBSE officials said that the study material of CBSE-I has already been made available online. To popularise the curriculum, a new section has been added to the CBSE- I portal. This section is called the parents’ and students’ corner.

However, some schools still appeared sceptical about the new curriculum. “We have not yet decided to launch it as we do not want to make education expensive for our students,” said a senior official from the Mother’s Public School. The DAV group of schools also is yet to introduce it.

The University Grants Commission has asked all universities to create awareness about CBSE-I curriculum among their affiliated colleges.