In India, board examinations refer to the public examinations that are conducted at the end of the 10th-grade education (SSLC), and at the end of the 12th-grade education (HSC). The scores achieved in these exams are considered very important for getting into universities, professional courses or training programs, and other occupations.
The first education board to be set up in India was the Uttar Pradesh Board of High School and Intermediate Education in 1921, which was under the jurisdiction of Rajputana, Central India, and Gwalior. In 1929, the government of India set up a joint Board named "Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Rajputana". This included Ajmer, Merwara, Central India, and Gwalior. Later it was confined to Ajmer, Bhopal, and Vindhya Pradesh. In 1952, it became the "Central Board of Secondary Education".
The education boards in India is rather diverse and equally qualitative when it comes to providing education. However, there are 4 boards that the Indian education boards provide for you to choose from. They are as follows –
Different Education Boards in India
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by Union Government of India. CBSE has asked all schools affiliated to follow only NCERT curriculum. There are approximately 20,299 schools in India and 220 schools in 28 foreign countries affiliated to the CBSE.
Another board/structure of the education boards in India is the CBSE board. This is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools. The Union Government of India is responsible for controlling and managing the board functions. Further, CBSE requests all affiliation schools to follow only NCERT curriculum. There are approximately 20,299 schools in India and 220 schools in 28 foreign countries affiliated to the CBSE. Originally the passing criteria was set such that a student had to get 33% in both the theory and practical components. A student who does not manage to pass up to two subjects can write the compartment in those subjects in July. And students failing the compartment, or failing in three or more subjects must rewrite all the subjects in the next year. For class 12 students the promotion criteria is 33% overall, with 33% in both theory and practical examinations (if applicable). Also, a student who does not manage to pass in exactly one subject, he/she can write the compartment for that subject in July. For those who fail the compartment, or those who fail in two subjects or more, he/she must rewrite all the subjects taken in the next year. Â
Objective:Â CBSE always works with a vision to provide stress-free education to its students by adapting innovative teaching methods infused with psychological and instructive principles.
 Syllabus: CBSE syllabus more or less focuses on preparing students for Engineering and Medical entrance examinations. All national entrance examinations are conducted as per the CBSE syllabus. The board emphasises on the use of NCERT Books which form
the basis of all entrance examinations conducted in India.
 Examinations: The two major examinations conducted by CBSE are All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE) for Class 10 and All India Senior School Certificate Examination (AISSCE) for Class 12.
Main benefits of going for a CBSE affiliated school are
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The council was established in 1958 by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate to ensure that its examinations become adapted to the educational needs of the country and assign the ultimate control of the same on the council. The council was registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 on 19 December 1967. The object of the council is educational, and includes the promotion of science, literature, the fine arts and the diffusion of useful knowledge by conducting school examinations through the medium of English. The Council exists solely for educational purposes and not for purposes of profit. Most schools following the CISCE curriculum are in the southern part of the country, while most schools in the northern part of the country follow the CBSE curriculum.
At the start let me tell you that ICSE board commonly used misnomer. There is nothing like an ICSE board. Rather, the CBSE equivalent here is the Council of Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE). It is a private body that was founded in year 1956 to set and adapt University of Cambridge’s examination system to India. This body now conducts 3 examinations, namely Â
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The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE)  is a privately held national level board of school education in India .Â
 Objective: The main objective of ICSE is to provide high quality education to students through a practical approach. It encourages students to choose across diverse streams/subjects for Class 12 by putting equal emphasis on science, arts and language subjects, especially English.
 Syllabus: CISCE syllabus is more vast and comprehensive in comparison with that of CBSE. It has been structured in a way to impart practical knowledge and build analytical skills required for the overall development of a student.
 Examinations:  The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations conducts three examinations, namely, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE –Class X); The Indian School Certificate (ISC - ClassXII) and the Certificate in Vocational Education (CVE - Year 12). The C.V.E. course is intended to prepare candidates for specific vocations.
The CISCE board has equal focus on languages, science and art and encourages students to choose across diverse topics / subjects for their Class-12 exam. Main benefits of CISCE are
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State board examinations are variously referred to as Madhyamik, Secondary State Certificate and Higher Secondary Certificate examinations. They are conducted and managed by education boards of different states in the country. They do not take place simultaneously due to the differences between syllabi and the examination itself. The examinations are generally held in the months of February and March, and the results are out in May and June.
Students have to apply for the examinations in November stating their personal details, subjects, and current educational status. Admit cards for the prescribed examination hall are received at the notified cell or their respective schools about 20–25 days prior to the commencement of the exam.
Objective:Â It focuses on state level topics and content of local relevance which helps students in preparing for state level engineering and medical entrance tests.Â
Syllabus:Â The syllabus is usually limited when compared to other boards. Regional languages and culture have a prominent place in the syllabus. Some state boards have ordered all their schools to follow NCERT books only which are important for students to prepare for pan India examinations.
Examinations:Â Exams are conducted in each class. In Class X, the students appear for Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and the Class XII students appear for the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) exams.Â
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International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non profit educational foundation that was founded in 1968 and now works with over 3000 schools in 141 countries. Â The board is gaining prevalence in high end new schools in India. Currently limited to the metro and large Tier-I cites in India. As per them, their vision is on all round development of the student into an inquiring, caring and knowledgeable young individual. IB offers innovative learning program and teaching approaches to achieve its stated objective. The main benefits of this are
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This is just a start. But more interesting would be to find out how do these school boards compare and contrast with each other. Which is the most suitable board for your child. We will start off this exercising by answering - Â which is better - CBSE or ICSE board. We will also be looking in details at finding the steps involved in finding the right school and more. Join us on facebook to stay updated about our latest research and publications as well as offers and promotions.Â
Objective:Â It focuses on Analytical skills, language, arts and humanities. The purpose of the IB is to produce global citizens
Syllabus: It has international curriculum where subjects are taught in an integrated way in order to avoid a fragmented approach. IB has a different approach with few textbooks. Students are free to explore the world.
Examinations: It has 3 sections, the PYP (Primary years program, KG to 5th standard), MYP (Middle years program, 6th-10th standard) and the DYP (Diploma years program, 11th-12th standard). It has no prescribed textbooks delivering a lot of freedom in learning.
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Established in 1989, The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) started as a government-run open school which allows students to study remotely or even re-start their education if there has been a break. The primary goal of this board is to increase access to education in remote areas. Open Basic Education (OBE) covers primary education equivalent to Class 3 to 8. This covers basic maths, environmental science and computer skills. In grade 10, subjects are chosen from 2 basic groups with at least five subjects and a language. In grade 12, more options are provided in commerce, science and humanities. These are further divided into five groups, with students picking one or two out of each group. The Board takes the OBE exams as well as the two main exams  Secondary and Higher Secondary. Students can take up to five years to complete their exams.
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We have provided a state-wise list of Best schools in India. This list has been created after evaluation of several factors that you can check in the below content. Refer the table to check state-wise best CBSE schools in India along with other state schools.
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School Name |
Board |
Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Lodi Estate |
CBSE |
 |
CBSE |
Vasant Valley School, Vasant Kunj |
CBSE |
Ahlcon International School, Mayur Vihar |
CBSE |
Amity International School, Saket |
CBSE |
Apeejay School, Pitampura |
CBSE |
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National School |
Board |
La Martiniere Girls College, Lucknow (Only for Girls) |
ISC |
Amity International School, Noida |
CBSE |
City Montessori High School, Rajinder Nagar |
ISC |
City Montessori Inter College, Aliganj |
ISC |
City Montessori Inter College, Chowk |
ISC |
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Schools |
Board |
Bhavan Vidyalaya, Chandigarh |
CBSE |
Carmel Convent School, Chandigarh (Only for Girls) |
CBSE |
Delhi Public School, Chandigarh |
CBSE |
Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh |
CBSE |
 |
CBSE |
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Schools |
Board |
Loyola School, Thiruvananthapuram (Only for Boys) |
ISC |
 |
CBSE |
Vicuna Vidyalaya, Thrikkakara |
CBSE |
Christava Mahilayalam Public School, Thottumughom (Only for Girls) |
CBSE |
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom |
CBSE |
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National School |
Board |
Chettinad Hari Shree Vidyalayam, Chennai |
ISC |
D A V Senior Secondary School (Boys), Mogappair |
CBSE |
DAV Boys Senior Secondary School, Gopalapuram (Only for Boys) |
CBSE |
DAV Boys Senior Secondary School, Lloyds Road, Chennai (Only for Boys) |
CBSE |
DAV Girls Senior Secondary School, Gopalapuram (Only for Girls) |
CBSE |
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National School |
Board |
Ebenezer International School, Bangalore |
ISC |
The Valley School, Bangalore |
ISC |
Little Rock Indian School, Brahmavar |
CBSE |
Bishop Cotton Boys School, Bangalore (Only for Boys) |
ISC |
Bishop Cotton Girls School, Bangalore (Only for Girls) |
ISC |
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National School |
Board |
Campion School Fort, Mumbai (Only for Boys) |
CBSE |
Delhi Public School, Nerul |
CBSE |
RN Podar High School, Santacruz |
CBSE |
Smt Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane |
ISC |
Apeejay School, Nerul |
CBSE |
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School |
Board |
DAV Public School, Unit VIII, Bhubaneswar |
CBSE |
DAV Public School, Paradeep |
CBSE |
DAV Public School, Angul |
CBSE |
DAV Public School, Berhampur |
CBSE |
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National School |
Board |
Delhi Public School, Surat |
CBSE |
Delhi Public School, Vadodara |
CBSE |
Essar International School, Hazira, Surat |
CBSE |
J H Ambani Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Surat (Only for Girls) |
CBSE |
Prakash Senior Secondary School, Bodakdev |
CBSE |
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National School |
Board |
Birla Shishu Vihar, Pilani |
CBSE |
Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, Jaipur |
CBSE |
Mayoor School, Ajmer |
CBSE |
Rajmata Krishna Kumari Girls Public School, Jodhpur (Only for Girls) |
CBSE |
 |
CBSE |
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Of the 3000 rated schools, only 50 best schools in India got the highest ratings of 5A. This is so because these top schools in India are blessed exceptionally with infrastructure, quality faculty, and students belong to the elite International Baccalaureate program. But these schools are quite lean in numbers compared to other boards. The primary reason is that schools with enviable infrastructure do not perform well when it comes to academic performance. The next rating AAAA+ is earned by nearly 250 top schools in India indicating that the challengers are much larger in volume than leaders and that is a very good sign for the country. Of rated India's best schools, 500+ have gained the AAAA rating indicating that most schools have a basic level of delivery capabilities.
The objective of this research exercise was to arrive at the of top 3,000 good schools in the country by adopting a stringent process of shortlisting data through questionnaire, interacting with school administrators and teachers, and finally analyzing quantifiable data. We gathered the basic data from the School Scorecard website maintained by the Ministry of HRD.
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Rating |
Thresholds |
Standing |
AAAAA |
95-99 percentile |
Exceptional |
AAAA+ |
90-94 percentile |
Outstanding |
AAAA |
80-89 percentile |
Best |
AAA+ |
70-79 percentile |
Very Good |
AAA |
60-69 percentile |
Good |
AA+ |
50-59 percentile |
Acceptable |
AA |
40-49 percentile |
Average |
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Answer:Â Â Kendriya Vidyalaya and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya are the best government schools in India.
Answer:Â Â Each state has the best CBSE schools based on the faculty, teaching, infrastructure and more. However, DAV Sr. Sec School, Chennai is considered as the best among all.
Answer:Â Yes, Kendriya Vidyalayas are affiliated and maintained by the central government.
Answer:Â Â The Lawrence School, Sanawar is one of the best boarding schools in India.
Answer:Â Â The admission is provided as per guidelines of the school. So you should refer the official website of the respective school to know about the admission process.
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