Is the IGCSE board really worth it?

Hello all!! This is Suven Jagtiani writing this blog. I am a student studying in 9th grade. When I had taken my admission  in school, there was a trend that parents only used to admit their children in schools which were near their house. But now the trend has changed and parents are comparing schools with the board which the schools follow. Many boards have now come up in India and parents have now become spoil for choices. So I decided that is IGCSE, India's one of the most expensive boards really worth it ?? This blog will even tell you that whether it is right to know the quality of the board with the fees that it takes.

So, for answering this question, I first took the interview of Ms. Kavita Sukhani,(Presently head of NEXT School , Mulund(West), and has been IGCSE Coordinator at ECOLE MONDIALE WORLD SCHOOL, Mumbai), and got some wonderful inputs.

Initially, those who are just un-aware of  the IGCSE board, make sure of visiting their website here. 

>> How do you compare the IGCSE board with Indian boards?
"They are all examination boards, I do not know much about Indian boards except for the fact that I studied in CBSE, but that was way back, at that time , I think the curriculum was good, if the teachers made us work through different explorations it was fun. Overall for grade 10 it was good, for grade 12 we had 60 students in class, even though I enjoyed learning I could get much out of it." said Kavita madam.

For me its what a school does not what a board offers , boards only come in at the end of the study period  for exams which I feel do not give any info about the real learning of the student.

So,  kavita Mam , are you trying to say "Schools are not restricted by these Boards to run their day to day activities and how teaching is done".

Yes Absolutely !!!  

Ok then,   How does the IGCSE board help a student prepare about the field in which he wants to have a career ?

I don't think any board  specifically prepares a child for a career, its how learning is dealt with by the student and school. Good marks lead you to probably getting into better colleges. How one transfers their learning at school into career is highly individualistic.

>> How do you rate the questioning of IGCSE textbooks, are they practical or very textbook oriented?

I cannot rate, because I have not directly taught core subjects. My subject being Visual arts does not need any books !!! ☺☺

IGCSE provides a curriculum, text books is what school or particular teachers use, teachers can teach the content without using a particular textbook. I believe its the teachers who can make the curriculum textbook oriented or otherwise. 

Overall there are a variety of questions and different papers for each subject such as practical  or alternative to practical, multiple choice, theory papers that give scope of different questioning possibilities.

The IGCSE curriculum is published by different publishers, like Hodder, Cambridge, Oxford; the books are colourful with good quality paper and text so becomes more interesting. Of course these books come at a cost.

>> kavita Mam, how does the IGCSE board help a student who is weak in a particular subject,  asked Suven

Actually, The school and teachers help , the board supports us with flexibility in choosing appropriate subjects, so if a student is not particularly interested or is struggling with certain subjects, he can choose different subjects, according to his/her strengths.

Thank you Kavita Madam, for all the time and very useful inputs.

I hope this interview gave you a teacher's point of view on the IGCSE board. Now, let's look at the general point of view of the IGCSE board.

GOOD THINGS ABOUT IGCSE :

I personally think that IGCSE board has some really good points which the INDIAN BOARDS must even take into practice.

1] SUBJECT CHOOSING FACILITY: A student in 9th and 10th grade can choose a minimum of 5 subjects out of the 5 groups that IGCSE has divided all their subjects into. This can really help a student choose those subjects in which he wants to make his career in.[5 subjects is the minimum, a student can even choose more than 5 subjects]

2] LEVELS IN SUBJECTS: All important subjects are divided as core level and advanced level. The core being the easier and the advanced being the harder. So a student study more deeply in the subject in which he is interested in and can take the core level in the subjects in which he is weak.

3] QUALITY OF TEXTBOOKS: You must have read in the above interview that the quality of IGCSE textbooks is very good and that is even true. The way concepts are explained with the help of attractive content, quality images in IGCSE textbooks is just too good.[Even you must have a look at it!!]

But as you know, every positive thing has a negative thing behind it and this is even applicable for the good points of IGCSE. 

If a student just wants to learn all easy things and has no interest in studies then  IGCSE board is not perfect for him because here teachers leave the students independent and no spoon feeding is done.[So parents, think before taking an addmission in IGCSE schools. Hope you take a right decision.]

TIP:  THE IGCSE BOARD IS VERY WELL DESIGNED BUT SOME SCHOOLS HAVE SOME MANAGEMENT AND PERMISSION ISSUES WITH THE CAMBRIDGE BOARD, PLEASE EVEN CHOOSE A RIGHT IGCSE SCHOOL.

THANK YOU FOR READING!!  

You can even read: ICSE vs CBSE vs SSC: Which is the best board?