Education boards vs. Examinations
‘Is the ICSE better or the CBSE?’, is one of the most common question in any parent’s discussion group. This is a wrong question per se. CBSE is an education board which conducts different exams, whereas ICSE is the 10th grade’s board exams. An education board can not be compared with board examination. The equivalent of ICSE is SSE (class X), which is conducted by CBSE.
Parents also get confused about international boards in India, and what programs they offer that equate to 10th & 12th boards. Many schools offer IGCSE for class 10 and IB Diploma for class 12. It is important to note that these two examinations are offered by two different boards – IGCSE by Cambridge Assessment (CAIE) and IB Diploma by International Baccalaureate (IB). Thus, even though both IGCSE and IB Diploma are offered by international boards, they differ in philosophy, design and execution.
School Examination Boards in India
CBSE, CISCE and NIOS are national boards. CBSE is managed by Government of India, whereas CISCE is a private board. NIOS is an open and distance learning education board managed by Government of India.
CAIE and IB are international boards, recognized by most of the countries across the globe. CAIE is based in UK and aligned to UK’s GCSE and A&AS curriculum, whereas IB is based out of Switzerland and its curriculum offers high quality international education. Also, Pearson Edexcel conducts its own International GCSE and International Advance Levels similar to UK’s GCSE. However, presence of Edexcel is very limited in India.
In addition to these boards, most of the states have their own boards that conduct 10th &12th examination. State board’s curriculum and structure vary from state to state, however they are largely align to CBSE curriculum with additional focus on regional language and culture.
To help parents and students, we have prepared a list of all approved boards in India and exams conducted by them in equivalence to 10th and 12th boards.
Which board is better? CBSE vs. CISCE vs. IB vs. Cambridge – Your guide to help in choosing the right board
Major Examination Boards
- CBSE: Central Board of Secondary Education
- CISCE: Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination
- CAIE: Cambridge Assessment International Education
- IB: International Baccalaureate
- NIOS: National Institute of Open Schooling
- Pearson Edexcel
- State Board: Boards of respective states
Read more about Cambridge Assessment
Examinations: 10th Board or equivalent
Examinations: 12th Board or equivalent
Name of the State Boards
ANDHRA PRADESH
- Andhra Pradesh Board of Intermediate Education, Hyderabad
- Andhra Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, Hyderabad
- Andhra Pradesh Open School Society, SCERT Campus, Hyderabad
ASSAM
- Assam Higher Secondary Education Council, Bamunimaidan, Guwahat
- Assam Board of Secondary Education, Guwahat
- Asam Higher Secondary Education Council, Assam State Open School Bamunimaidan, Guwahati
BIHAR
- Bihar Intermediate Education Council, Patna
- Bihar School Examination Board, Patna
- Bihar Sanskrit Shiksha Board, Patna
- Bihar Board of Open Schooling & Examination, Patna
CHHATISGARH
- Chhatisgarh Board of Secondary Education, Raipur
- Chhatisgarh Board of Secondary Education & State Open School, Raipur
- Chhattisgarh Madarsa Board, Chattisgarh
GOA
- Goa Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education, Goa
GUJARAT
- Gujarat Secondary & Higher Secondary Education Board, Gandhi Nagar
- Gujarat State Open School, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
HARYANA
- Haryana Board of Education, Hansi Road, Bhiwani
- Haryana Open School, Bhiwan
HIMACHAL PRADESH
- Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education, Dharamshala
- Himachal Pradesh State Open School, Dharamsala, Kangra
JAMMU & KASHMIR
- J&K State Board of School Education, Jammu
- J&K State Open School, Srinagar
JHARKHAND
- Jharkhand Academic Council, Ranchi
KARNATAKA
- Karnataka Board of the Pre-University Education, Bangalore
- Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Borad, Bangalore
- Karnataka Open School, J.S.S. Maha Vidya Peeth, Mysore
KERALA
- Kerala Board of Public Examinations, Pareeksha Bhawan, Thiruvananthpuram
- Kerala Board of Higher Secondary Education, Thiruvananthapuram
- Kerala State Open School, Thiruvananthapuram
MAHARASHTRA
- Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Pune
MADHYA PRADESH
- Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education, Bhopa
- M.P. State Open School, Bhopal 1003 Madhya Pradesh Madarsa Board, Madhya Pradesh
MANIPUR
- Manipur Council of Higher Secondary Education, Imphal
- Manipur Board of Secondary Education, Impha
MEGHALAYA
- Meghalaya Board of School Education, Meghalaya
MIZORAM
- Mizoram Board of School Education Chaltlan, Aizaw
NAGALAND
- Nagaland Board of School Education, Kohima
ODISHA
- Odisha Council of Higher Secondary Education Bhubaneswar
- Odisha Board of Secondary Education, Cuttack
PUNJAB
- Punjab School Education Board, Mohali
RAJASTHAN
- Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer
- Rajasthan State Open School, Jaipur
TAMIL NADU
- Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education, Chennai
- Tamil Nadu Board of Higher Secondary Education, Chennai
- Tamil Nadu State Open School, Chennai
TRIPURA
- Tripura Board of Secondary Education, Agartala, Tripura West
UTTAR PRADESH
- U.P. Board of High School & Intermediate Education, Allahabad
- Board of Madrasa Education, Uttar Pradesh
UTTARAKHAND
- Uttarakhand Vidhyaleye Shiksha Parishad (UBSE), Ramnagar, Nanital
WEST BENGAL
- West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, Calcutta
- West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, Calcutta
- West Bengal Council for Rabindra Open Schooling
- West Bengal Board of Madrasa Education
Other Institutes Recognised for Secondary/Senior Secondary level
- Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi.
- Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar,
- Directorate of Army Education, New Delhi.
- Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.
- Jamia Millia Hamdard University.
- Banasthali Vidyapith, Banasthali, Rajasthan
- Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
- Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi (Poorva Madhyama Examination)