Principals and teachers of ICSE schools met in the city on Wednesday to discuss changes needed to make the board’s mathematics syllabus more “modern”.

The 100-plus teachers who attended the meeting stressed the importance of equipping students with skills to compete with those following international curriculum.

“There should be components in the syllabus that would help students pursue higher studies in the field of mathematics,” stated Dilip Bhattacharya, principal of MCKV School, where the meeting was held.

Bhattacharya is a former mathematics teacher of La Martiniere for Boys and a head examiner for the ICSE and ISC examinations.

The proposals thrown up at the meeting will be forwarded to the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations. But G. Arathoon, additional secretary and officiating chief executive and secretary of the council, said: “The council is not aware of the meeting between the heads and teachers of ICSE schools in Calcutta. We will have to examine the proposals.”

A recent revision of the mathematics syllabus triggered the meeting. “The council has deleted topics important for students who want to pursue higher studies in mathematics and allied subjects,” said a mathematics teacher of a south Calcutta school, citing topics like functions in algebra that help in the study of differential calculus.

“We need to incorporate more topics for the benefit of students with the potential to pursue mathematics and related subjects,” said Nabarun De, principal of Central Modern School.

If there was a push towards nurturing brilliance, there were also proposals to pamper mediocrity. The meeting saw suggestions to include topics like banking transaction, tax calculation and share market transaction “to make mathematics more appealing to mediocre students”.

Such market-friendly topics have crept into the syllabus displacing those vital for further studies in mathematics.

Monojit Gupta, head of the mathematics department of Jadavpur University, said: “The mathematics syllabus at the school level does not contain enough topics to groom future mathematicians. Solving tough problems develops a student’s mental faculties. There should be space in the syllabus for such problems.”