Things that start on a good note usually have flourishing conclusions. The same also applies to a student's school-level education. It lays the foundation for a lucrative career, be it in the government or the private sector.

A critical decision that parents need to take is regarding the academic board. Today, India is home to several boards like the CBSE, ICSE, IB, IGCSE, and State Board, among a few others. However, the million-dollar question is, which one's the best for your child?

In this blog, we discuss all the aspects related to these educational boards. This will help you shortlist the schools that offer the desired program. With Skoolz, you don't need to worry about all these things.

We help you learn exhaustive details about a school of almost 75+ parameters and compare several schools at once with a hassle-free comparison of over 50+ features. Moreover, you can apply to all the shortlisted schools at once with the help of our single-page application. You can perform a location-specific search to shortlist Bangalore CBSE schools, the best ICSE schools in Bangalore.

CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education)

The CBSE board is regulated by the Union Government of India. It's the mecca of Indian educational boards that hails its presence even outside the country. CBSE's curriculum is tailor-made for students looking to enter prestigious educational institutes for their higher education aspirations.

The council conducts two major examinations in your 10th and 12th grades. The marks your child secures in these grades play a critical role in molding their future. How? Many entrance exams (especially for medical and engineering colleges, including IITs and leading medical colleges) have minimum percentage criteria for the 12th board exams.

This varies from 75% to 95% based on the entrance exam your child appears for. Many examinations also set minimum percentage criteria for stream-specific aggregates. For example, many private colleges don't accept overall aggregates but only calculate the sum of the core subjects.

The best part about the CBSE board is that its curriculum lowers the burden on a student's shoulders. An in-depth understanding of this curriculum makes your ward exam-ready (for both 12th-grade and entrance exams). Therefore, there's no need for students to enroll themselves in costly coaching institutes.

ICSE (Indian Certificate for Secondary Education)

The ICSE board is also referred to as the CISCE (Council for Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) board. It's a private educational board that conducts two pivotal examinations for 10th and 12th-grade students, like the CBSE. The ICSE board governs the exams for class 10th and the ISC board for class 12th.

The curriculum offered by the ICSE board is comprehensive, with equal emphasis on all subjects. Another unique benefit of this board is the freedom to choose a core stream in the 9th grade itself. However, given that the course is comprehensive, securing high percentages in the ICSE board is no walk in the park.

This is one of the critical reasons why students choose CBSE over ICSE. Moreover, switching boards is not seamless, and the student can take a lot of time to acclimatize to the new board. The focus on English, communication skills, and personality development set this board apart from the rest.

The ICSE/CISCE board acknowledges the trend of students preferring the CBSE board for their 12th exams. Accordingly, the board is actively making efforts to curate its syllabus to align with the entrance examinations.

IB (International Board)

Students aspiring to study abroad after their secondary education don't need to look beyond the IB board. The genesis of this prestigious board traces back to 1968, when it was founded in Switzerland. Today, the International Board has its roots in over 150 countries across the globe.

However, parents must note that it's also among the most expensive boards for pursuing school-level education. However, the fee is justified in terms of the curriculum offered. It differs when compared to the other educational boards discussed above.

The board doesn't prescribe a set of books that would suffice a candidate's examination requirements. Therefore, students need to understand the curriculum and choose the study material to pave their learning path. All the students are expected to think critically and come up with spontaneous solutions for various problem statements.

The top schools in Bangalore offer IB programs to groom a child's research skills and self-management skills alongside critical-thinking abilities to enhance your child's overall personality. Board exams are conducted in the 10th and 12th grades. However, students don't generally enroll in an IB board program for entrance exams as the curriculum is not focused on the engineering and medical exams.

IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education)

The IGCSE board follows a practical learning approach with an array of subjects to choose from. You can select the ones that match your ward's field of interest and career aspirations. Much like the IB board, you need to choose a group of subjects for your child from the already-established groups maintained by the IGCSE.

There are only around 500 schools in India that offer the IGCSE board. However, the balance in curriculum and credibility of its academic program is something that all students would love to cherish. Moreover, the exams on this board break the shackles of the classical written mode of examination.

Students need to appear for several oral, visual, and written exams as part of the IGCSE curriculum. Questions are always asked about logic and critical thinking. Therefore, only theoretical learning won't help in securing good marks in the examination.

Regarding the fee structure, schools offering IGCSE boards charge a higher annual fee compared to the CBSE and ICSE boards. Another aspect that parents need to note is that the IGCSE board is for 9th and 10th standards only.

State Board

State boards define their own curriculum and, as a result, differ from state to state. The difference is also visible in terms of their grading methods and approach to delivering education.

Many states include a rich in local information curriculum to aid students in preparing for state-level entrance examinations. However, many state boards also follow the NCERT curriculum to ensure that students are aligned with national entrance exams.

The students need to appear for SSC (10th) and HSC (12th) board examinations under a state board program. It offers the most affordable source of education to students with ample opportunities to pursue scholarship-based academic programs.

However, concerns continue to persist around:

The quality of education
The honesty of purpose among the educators/teachers teaching in state board schools
The lack of practical knowledge due to the absence of robust labs and educational equipment

It's something that the union government has tried to address in the new educational policy. Moreover, the state governments are also putting in the hard yards to improve the quality of education in state board schools.

CBSE vs. ICSE vs. IB vs. IGCSE vs. State Board – Summarizing the Differences

Attribute	CBSE	ICSE	IB	IGCSE	State Board
Curriculum	The curated syllabus is tailor-made for entrance exams.	Comprehensive curriculum with equal focus on all subjects.	The curriculum differs largely when compared to the classical boards like the CBSE and ICSE. The focus is on personality development, communication skills, etc.	The IGCSE board offers a diversified course with 70+ fields and 30+ languages. Exams are held via visual, oral, and written modes.	The curriculum is state-centric with emphasis on topics like History, Geography alongside regional languages.
Core Subject Selection	Students can choose the desired streams after passing their 10th grade.	Students can choose the desired streams after passing their 8th grade.	Students need to choose subject groups wherein each group has a set of subjects.	Students need to choose subject groups wherein each group has a set of subjects.	Students can opt for the desired streams after passing the SSC (10th board) exams.
Focus on Extracurriculars	Good focus on extracurricular activities. Sports, music, dance, debates, creative activities, and more are conducted.	A wide range of indoor and outdoor sports, seminars, debate competitions, art and craft competitions, etc.	Students are kept on their feet throughout the academic year. Activities include regular internal assessments, quizzes, recitation competitions, etc.	The board emphasizes a lot on extracurricular activities. Students have the opportunity to take part in cross-country competitions and represent their schools at the national and international levels.	Focus on extracurriculars is highly subjective and varies from school to school, state to state. However, outdoor games and local-area visits are regularly planned.
Entrance Exam Suitability	It's the preferred board for students looking to get admission to prestigious colleges by clearing the entrance examinations.	The ICSE board is less popular with regard to entrance exam suitability. The board has now modified its XI-XII curriculum to align with these exams.	Board exams are conducted in the 10th and 12th grades. However, students don't generally enroll in an IB board program for entrance exams as the curriculum is not focused on the engineering and medical exams.	The curriculum of the IGCSE board is only till the 10th grade. Therefore, it won't help you with your entrance exam preparations. The parent must choose this board for their child only if they know the next steps after the 10th.	The State Board curriculum, in general, is best suited for students looking to appear for the regional entrance exams. Many states also promote the usage of NCERT books.
Fee Structure and Affordability	Private schools charge an annual fee (which is usually paid quarterly) based on their campus, lab facilities, etc. Therefore, you can find affordable CBSE schools.	The fee structure of ICSE schools is slightly higher when compared to the CBSE schools. However, it doesn't go as high as the fee charged by the IB and IGCSE schools.	The International Board is among the most expensive educational boards.	Even though the IGCSE board is only till the 10th standard, the schools that offer this program have higher fee structures.	State Boards offer an affordable medium of education. It's significantly low when compared to all the other educational boards.

To Conclude

Choosing a school that's ideal for your child isn't a decision that you can take by only considering the board. You need to know about the fee structure, campus, reviews, etc., to make an educated decision.

For instance, if you're a resident of Bangalore, you would like to deep dive into the Bangalore schools, curate a Bangalore schools list, and apply to various CBSE schools in Bangalore (or any other board of your choice) for your child's admission.

However, amid this rigorous hunt for the best school, parents often fail to consider the aspirations of their children. This is where Skoolz comes in and changes the game. We start with counseling discussions with both – the parents and the child to ensure everyone's on the same page.

Next, we help you compare various schools on a plethora of parameters, provide salient information about schools, and much more. The best part is that you can file an admission application via Skoolz itself. So, what's the wait for? Find the right school for your child with the help of Skoolz.

Written by:
Ravi Gupta

Growth Specialist

Search, Compare, Book Appointment with the Best CBSE, ICSE, International & Pre-Schools in Bengaluru here

CBSE vs. ICSE vs. IB vs. IGCSE vs. State Board