The Anglo-Indian schools in Bengal will not switch to the curriculum proposed by the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) for classes Nursery to VIII.

The curriculum that is being followed till Class VIII in the Anglo-Indian schools is "appropriate enough" to maintain high standards of education, the principals of some of the institutions said.

The decision to not follow the proposed curriculum was taken unanimously at a meeting of the Bengal chapter of Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools, an organisation of principals of ICSE schools run by Christian missionaries and organisations run by members of the Anglo-Indian community.

Among the institutions are the La Martiniere and the Loreto schools, St. James', Pratt Memorial, Welland Gouldsmith, Calcutta Boys, Frank Anthony, St. Thomas' Boys', St. Thomas' Girls', Julien Day, Assembly of God Church, and Loyola High schools.

"The decision as of now is we will not follow the new curriculum of the CISCE. It is not mandatory for our schools to implement the proposed curriculum. But we will take a call if the council asks us to switch to the new curriculum," Terence Ireland, the principal of St. James' School, said after the meeting.

CISCE chief executive and secretary Gerry Arathoon revealed the new curriculum at a conference of the Association of Heads of ICSE Schools, an organisation of principals of non-Anglo Indian schools, in Lucknow on Wednesday.

A key objective of revising the curriculum is to ease the pressure on students.

"We are yet to study the proposed curriculum in detail.... At first glance it appears the changes have watered down some portions of the syllabus in most subjects. This is not desirable for schools that want to offer high standard education to their students," said Gilian Rosemary Hart, principal, Welland Gouldsmith School.

This is the first time in its 64-year history that the CISCE has prescribed a uniform syllabus for classes from Nursery to VIII.

The council has so far prepared the curricula only for classes IX to XII, which the affiliated schools have to follow.

According to the CISCE rules, it is not binding on the affiliated schools to follow the council curricula till Class VIII. The schools also enjoy the freedom to frame policies on academic and administrative matters.

The curriculum followed in all ICSE schools till Class VIII is prepared by the Inter-State Board for Anglo-Indian Education, under the guidance of the National Council of Educational Research and Training.

The state chapter of the Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools also decided on Friday to organise a conference of the heads of all Anglo-Indian schools in Calcutta on January 7 and 8.

The heads are boycotting the annual meet of the national body of the Anglo-Indian schools organising in Lucknow next month. The school heads in Bengal have decided to boycott the Lucknow conference to protest the change of venue from Calcutta to Uttar Pradesh.