How to select the education board for your kid in Grade 8 as per requirement of NEP

Choosing the right board for your child is critical as it goes a long way in determining the way the career of your child shapes up. A number of factors must be considered before making this decision. The different boards vary in terms of academic focus/syllabus, extracurricular activities, grading systems, infrastructure requirements, teacher training, fees, flexibility in choosing subjects, teacher-child ratio etc. Now, before we delve into the depth of this topic, let’s understand what the New Education Policy (NEP) means and how does it affect you?

What is NEP?
The New Education Policy was approved by the Union Cabinet in the year 2020. The Indian education system has, for the first time in 34 years, seen a significant transformation. A direct outcome of this is that children are now at liberty in selecting subjects of their choice. For instance, a chemistry student can opt to learn history or a commerce student can choose to study political science. Essentially, the NEP is divided into four stages:

The Foundational Stage - It begins at age 3 upto age 8. It is further divided into two parts ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) and Primary School. ECCE is for the ages 3-6 and primary school for ages 6-8, which is grade 1 & 2.
The Preparatory Stage - It is for children in grades 3 - 5, which falls in the age group of 8-11 years. It is activity-based and the emphasis is on play-based learning with immersive classroom learning.
The MIddle Stage - It is for the age group 11-14 years which is from grades 6-8. It is based on experiential learning in the disciplines of Maths, Science, Social Science, Arts, Technology, and Humanities.
The Secondary Stage - It is for children in the age group of 14-18 years. It is further divided into two phases: phase 1 and phase 2. Phase 1 is for grades 9 & 10, phase 2 is for grades 11 & 12. It allows the child to choose the subject of his/her choice from a wide range of options. It involves multidisciplinary research, strategic thinking, creativity etc.

What are the different board options available to a child?

State Board - The State Board comes under the purview of the concerned state government. It is more designed towards completion of given syllabus in a stipulated time. It is reasonable when it comes to fees but is limited technology and infrastructure-wise. Moreover, it is not suitable for children whose parents are in transferable jobs. Also, it does not prepare the child for competitive-level exams.

CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) - One of the popular boards and widely accepted, it is much sought after for its good curriculum and vast syllabus. The recent introduction of CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) System grades students through the year ensuring all round development. It also helps students in their preparation towards competitive exams in the future. Although more emphasis is given on Maths and Science, art and literature are comparatively sidelined. As it follows a centralised system, transition between schools across cities is smooth for transferring students.

ICSE (Indian School Certificate Examination) - The syllabus is vast with a wide range of options for students. It brings with it the right balance between Science and Arts, and in fact stressing on the importance of language and literature as well. As it is a project-based learning, students understand concepts better and deeper. It also allows students to focus on extra curricular activities as it believes in holistic development. Although relatively few schools offer this board, there is a slow rise in the number of schools especially in urban India over the past few years. The fees though are on the higher side in comparison with other boards.

IB (International Baccalaureate) - Known for its innovative teaching methods, it focuses on all-round development of children. The criteria for schools to provide this curriculum is set by international universities. Thus the curriculum is application oriented and experiment-based.