1. Difficulty Level
In terms of the level of difficulty, ICSE tops the list over CBSE. This is because the ICSE syllabi hinges on multiple internal assessments and concepts taught in the classroom extend to practical lessons. When you enrol in CBSE, although the learning curve doesn’t get steep, you miss out on practical and real-world based knowledge. ICSE demands high levels of learning since the exams are challenging and difficult to clear, in contrast to CBSE. If attaining clarity of concepts and in-depth subject understanding is key for your child, then ICSE is the ideal choice.
2. Transferability
If you travel frequently around cities with your family, you’d be hard-pressed to continue your child’s education in ICSE since there aren’t a lot of ICSE schools in the country. However, since CBSE is recognized by the Government of India and schools across the nation globally adopt this board of education, it’s not that hard to change schools for your little one if you’re planning to change cities. If you are planning to stay settled with your family in one city for the next 5 to 10 years, pick ICSE, or else – CBSE is your child’s answer.
3. Competitive and International Exams
CBSE’s huge advantage lies in its syllabus. The contents of the CBSE syllabus are geared towards competitive exams, and in fact, even popular engineering and medical entrance exams are based on its subject-syllabi. ICSE, on the other hand, wins in terms of international popularity. Many schools abroad recognize the depth and expansiveness of the syllabus and place their trust on ICSE graduates. To put it in simple words, if you are planning to help your child aces national competitive exams like AIEE and JEE, choose CBSE. For international Olympiads and scholarship examinations, go for ICSE.
4. The Range of Subjects
If your child loves learning and his brain is constantly on the move, then ICSE is a perfect choice for him. Offering a variety of languages such as Hindi, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and others, ICSE even includes creative subjects like fashion design, agriculture, home science and cookery for innovative minds. If your kid aspires to become a professional visual artist, an athlete or even a scientist later on in life, ICSE is the perfect choice if you want to groom your young one into an all-rounder.
5. Grading System
In CBSE, you don’t know how much you’ve scored since all the papers you appear for during the exam are graded alphabetically. In ICSE, grades for each subject are displayed alongside individual numeric scores which gives a good idea how well students have performed in their respective subjects.
6. Private Candidature and Mentorships
ICSE does not allow private candidates to appear for their exams and only allows ICSE-exclusive students to write the papers during board exams. CBSE board, on the other hand, allows students from other boards such as SSC to join in on the curriculum. If a student changes boards in the middle of their formative years, CBSE allows them entry, unlike ICSE which grooms students from the very beginning. Where tutoring is concerned, in cities like Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore, ICSE tutors are found in abundance when compared to CBSE.
Online education platforms give preference to ICSE-mode of learning too, and as such, in terms of sophistication and expansive, ICSE dominates the education sphere in contrast to CBSE. The CBSE curriculum is now presently being recognized by academic systems abroad as well. ICSE is, however, considered complete and holistic senior high schooling in comparison to CBSE.
In terms of flexibility and choice of subjects, ICSE definitely wins in the category of variety, with some schools even offering Interior Design, Computer Science and Environmental Science subjects in their curriculum.