| NAGPUR: The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) is well-known private board in India but surprisingly in Nagpur there are a few takers. It is known popularly as ICSE, which is in fact the name of the certificate given to students who pass its Std X, and there are only three schools affiliated to it in the city. Chanda Devi Saraf School, Seventh Day Adventist School and MSB Educational Institute are the ones affiliated to CISCE but only one of them offers the option of Std XI-XII. CDS being the only school to have junior college level studies speaks volumes about the acceptance of this board in Nagpur.
Anjali Kodwani, a student of state board's Std XII, feels the CISCE board is on the tougher side. "At the end of the day, all that matters is how much you score in board exams. But in CISCE, it is tough to score high marks because its syllabus is very comprehensive and tough. As far as the board is concerned, there are no doubts about its quality because its syllabus is in-depth and students get a lot of opportunities," Kodwani said.
Omi Bhandari cleared CISCE board's Std XII recently and feels his parent board is a victim of ignorance. "Majority of the people just don't understand its worth and hence the confusion regarding it. Our standard of education is so high that we can cope with any kind of test post Std XII. I studied in this board right from Std I and I can vouch for its comprehensive method of study and quality," said Bhandari.
Azeema Chimthanawala, a student who passed out of state board's Std XII, feels that CISCE board is extremely tough, hence not chosen by students. "I did not choose CISCE because in my opinion it is tough and very difficult. The one problem students of CISCE are most likely to face is the difficulty in cracking competitive exams because the syllabus for that is based on CBSE. Also, CISCE is a very difficult board to score in, another reason for students staying away from it. And finally, I think this board came to Nagpur very late and by then the general public had already moved towards CBSE," said Chithanawala.
Avisha Fatehpuria is a state board student who had completed her Std X from CISCE board, and agrees that her older board was tough. "The state board syllabus is extremely easy when compared to CISCE and this helps us to score higher. People have a wrong notion that there will be problems of board recognition when we go for higher studies. In fact, not only is the board recognized everywhere, the syllabus of CISCE is much advanced than that of CBSE and state board," said Fatehpuria. |