Education Systems by Aadya Bansal on 19th June 2021
Previously, we have talked about various education systems like CBSE, IBDP and CISCE. Now through this blog we will tell you about a few more types of education systems prevalent across the world like IGCSE and State Boards. IGSCE
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is one of the world's most well known and reputed board.
It is a two-year programme that leads to externally set, marked and certificated examinations from the University of Cambridge. Any and every student who takes an IGCSE subject will be gaining a qualification that is recognized globally.
Students who take up this board will easily be able to apply to foreign universities that do not accept scores from the CBSE or ICSE boards.
There are three exam boards that offer different versions of IGSCE:
-Cambridge IGCSE
-Edexcel IGCSE
-Oxford AQU IGCSE
Cambridge IGCSE is the most widely recognized of all these boards.
Students of IGCSE curriculum can take a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 14 subjects. The IGCSE 'core' curriculum consists of a First Language, Second Language, Mathematics, and one or more subjects in the field of science. These are compulsory subjects.
Students can choose their subjects from a very wide range of subjects. IGCSE offers around more than 70 subjects that students are free to choose from.
IGCSE's main aim is to increase the intellectual capability of students by focusing on understanding of concepts and research instead of rote learning.
Many students who study IGCSE move on to study the IBDP programme afterwards too.
So overall IGCSE is a really good choice if you are planning to study abroad, gain education and knowledge, while also inculcating valuable life skills.
IGCSE examinations are taken in about 120 countries, including the United Kingdom and India. The official website for IGCSE is https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/
State Board
State Boards refer to the different primary, secondary and higher secondary education systems that various state governments have.
State Board examinations are conducted towards the end of 10th and 12th grades. The 10th grade education exam is also called Secondary School Certificate (SSC) while the 12th grade education exam is also known as Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC).
The scores achieved in these exams are considered very important for getting into universities, professional courses or training programmes and other occupations.
In order to make it easier for you, here is a lead to a list of all official state boards in India: https://www.coachingindians.com/state-boards/index.html
These are recognized by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Management and the Government of India.
Some states may have more than one educational boards. Examples of few such states in India are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, etc.
The examinations are conducted only in pen and paper format.
The state board of education functions in all the states and union territories of the country. Under the ministry of education, each state and union territory is allowed to design the syllabus according to their liking, making the syllabus different across the whole country.
A feature that is extremely different for this type of education system is that the examinations can be conducted in the local languages of the respective states.
State education also focusses on the local culture and have extra subjects specially designed to cater to that.
In state syllabus, more weightage is given to the regional language of the state apart from English, which is optional. Students can learn the syllabus in their local language which is a good option for those students who find it difficult to follow English.
For state boards, the syllabus is designed by the Department of Education of the particular government of the state and it may vary for different states.
This was all about the IGCSE and State Boards. Follow up on our other blogs for more information on other kinds of existing education systems and all about universities.
