CBSE plans independent body to grade its schools

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: The CBSE board is all set to help you out. The board is planning to set up its own national accreditation body to grade CBSE schools across the country. The body will be an independent one and will consist of experts in the field of education.

Those present at a recent CBSE board meeting say there were plans to grade schools on various parameters, and not just academics alone. “The board may not even give schools one single overall rating. Instead, schools may be get separate grades for the various parameters, like sports,’’say board sources.

The board is also mulling over a proposal on new schools, whereby all schools wh i ch have recently started will have to run for three years and get themselves accredited before they get CBSE affiliation. Board officials, though, say there is no clear time frame for setting up this accreditation body.

Mumbai parents have given the move a thumbs up. Commenting on CBSE’s plan to give accreditation to schools, parent Shaira Shaikh says “This is a fantastic idea. It will certainly help us choose appropriate schools for our children. I had a tough time when it came to searching for schools for my eightyear-old son. If CBSE implements this policy by next year, it will be easier to zero in on a school for my daughter.’’

The Maharashtra government too had been weighing a proposal to grade its schools. A parent of a student in a state board school suggested a common accreditation system for schools across the country.

Some schools in Mumbai had at one time even sought ISO certification as a measure of quality.