In a significant step towards bridging educational divides, schools affiliated with the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) are set to collaborate with nearby government schools in an initiative aimed at enhancing the quality of education across India.
The initiative, driven by CISCE as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, will see CISCE's Schools of Excellence share their methodologies with government schools to strengthen teaching quality and infrastructure. CISCE's CEO, Dr Joseph Emmauel, in an exclusive conversation with NDTV, said, "The National Education Policy talks about school complexes or clusters of schools where sharing and caring are promoted among neighbourhood schools. Our centres of excellence will pass on their best practices in the locality. All stakeholders, students, heads of schools, parents, and school management collaborate to learn from each other and promote best practices."
Tamil Nadu has witnessed a surge in schools adding or switching to the CISCE stream. The Madras Christian College Association plans to launch one. Dr P Wilson, the Principal and Secretary, attributes this shift to "its extensive syllabus structure with greater emphasis on practical learning, its pan-India presence, and relatively high global recognition."
Dr Joseph denies that this is poaching. "We are at the forefront of bringing innovative practices. We have a global connection, so the best practices from across the world can be brought into the country's schools. Naturally, schools across the country are attracted," he added.
As part of its commitment to inclusivity and innovation, CISCE offers schools the flexibility to align with the state government's policy. However, it allows students to learn up to three languages, adhering to the National Education Policy's (NEP) three-language formula. Dr Emmanuel clarified that no language is compulsory, respecting regional preferences like Tamil Nadu's stance against the three-language requirement, calling the system an imposition of Hindi.
CISCE's CEO is in Chennai to participate in the Inter-Board School Principals Conference at Christwood School. Dr Alfred Devaprasad, the school's CEO, said, "With the changing global landscape in education, we felt it was time to discuss with senior educationists across the spectrum of school boards ways to align education to meet global standards."
