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.