Dubai School Withdraws CBSE-i Curriculum

A Dubai-based Indian school following the Central Board of Secondary Education-international (CBSE-i) has decided to temporarily discontinue with the curriculum following the reluctance on behalf of a large number of students to take up CBSE-i for their Grade 11 examinations.

A few parents and students of “Our Own Indian School” said that the syllabus prescribed by the CBSE-i is not systematic and students, especially those in the higher classes, found it difficult to cope with the constant changes made by the board. The board’s sudden decision to start compulsory board exams for Grade 11 CBSE-i students in November 2011 is one of the reasons that the school decided to withdraw from the curriculum, according to a few parents.

The students will now continue under the normal CBSE curriculum. The pilot project launched by the CBSE in 2010, on par with the likes of curriculum of International Baccalaureate (IB), was adopted by very few schools in Dubai.

The curriculum which encourages activity-oriented teaching does not prescribe any text books and parents said that the lesson plans came in at the last minute. Initially, the changes in curriculum were adapted in Grades 1 and 9.