“This is the first time that such a high-level delegation is visiting the Kingdom,” said International Indian School-Dammam (IISD) Principal E.K. Mohammed Shaffe.
“Coming as it does in the backdrop of a series of critical changes undertaken by the board in recent days, the three-day Kingdomwide visit beginning Tuesday offers a good opportunity to parents, students and teachers of CBSE-affiliated schools to discuss and learn about the latest changes and reforms being brought about by the CBSE at secondary and senior secondary levels.”
The board has already done away with the antiquated examinations-oriented system of student assessment and has replaced it with a gradation system or what is commonly described by the teaching community as continuous and comprehensive evaluation. Under this system of assessment, a student will no longer get to know the number of marks he or she has scored in the examination. They will be instead given grades.
“A student will be promoted to the next class not merely on the basis of his or her performance in examinations but on a comprehensive yearlong evaluation of their performance in both scholastic and non-scholastic areas,” explained Shaffe. So among other things, students will also be assessed and evaluated on the basis of their attitude, creative skills, communication abilities, aesthetic skills, scientific skills, oratorical abilities, and their performance in health and physical education activities. “The academic and non-academic evaluations are expected to provide a comprehensive profile of a student.”
As per the new system, an academic year is divided into two terms instead of the previous three. The first term now begins in April and ends in September. The second term begins in October and ends in March. “The comprehensive evaluations of students will, therefore, take place in both terms,” said Shaffe.
Talking about the gradation system, Shaffe said the students who appeared for the Class 10 examination in March this year will only get their results in terms of grades. “For example, all those scoring more than 90 marks in a particular paper will get an A+,” he said. “It is as simple as that,” he said. “The visit of the CBSE delegation will help the Indian community familiarize itself with the new educational mechanism and India’s new education policy.”
Besides Joshi and Vaish, the delegation includes Educational Officers Sadhana Parashar, Sugandh Sharma and Srijata Das. The delegates will conduct an intensive workshop at IISD on Tuesday for teachers of Class IX & X of the CBSE affiliated schools in the Eastern Province. The officials will also meet the parents of Class IX-XII students in an effort to educate them on the continuous and comprehensive evaluation process. The delegation will conduct a similar exercise at the International Indian School in Jeddah on April 7 and the International Indian School in Riyadh on April 8.
The gradation system has been widely welcomed by both the teaching and parent communities. “This will take a lot of stress off students. It will lead to healthy competition among students. A student will now have to cultivate an all-rounded personality. Everything will count, not just the marks in the examinations,” said Ayub Shaikh, the controller of examinations at the International Indian School in Jeddah. “It was heart-breaking for teachers, parents and students to see someone scoring 89.5 marks and yet not being acknowledged because another student had scored 90 marks. The new system will provide grades and that will not lead to the demoralization of an high-achieving student. This is a very balanced system and we welcome it,” Shaikh told Arab News.
The CBSE chairman is also likely to discuss the introduction of the board’s new curriculum for international students.
The introduction of the new syllabus is intended to bring it on par with international boards like International Baccalaureate (IB). The new syllabus will be only meant for international students and will be taught in only those schools which agree to adopt it. “This is not mandatory,” clarified Shaffe. “An informed decision on this will be taken by the management after intensive discussions with all stakeholders.”
The CBSE chairman was quoted as saying in the Indian media that from the next session, the CBSE will introduce a separate curriculum for international students. “This will help the board to become an international board like International Baccalaureate.” However, the CBSE will continue its existing curriculum for students residing in India. The new curriculum will be of international standards and give a global perspective to the subjects of study.
There are nearly 25 CBSE-affiliated schools spread across the length and breadth of the Kingdom. They have a combined student strength of 40,000. Among the most popular CBSE-affiliated schools are the International Indian School-Dammam (IISD), the International Indian School-Jeddah (IISJ), the International Indian School-Riyadh (IISR), the International Indian School-Jubail, the Delhi Public School in Riyadh and Jeddah, Al-Yasmin International School, Al-Yara International School, Al-Khozama International School, Al-Wurood International School and Al-Mawarid International Schools. IIS-Dammam has the highest student strength of nearly 17,000, followed by IIS-Jeddah with 11,000 students and IIS-Riyadh with 9,000 students.
