Dadar school forces Class IV students to shift to ICSE board
Parents along with Yuva Sena Sainath Durge leaders complain; School management authorities claim they had started ICSE board from Class I
Parents said their children have been studying SSC curriculum from Class 1 till Class IV and now suddenly the school wants them to study and learn the ICSE curriculum in Class V which is not possible
More than 150 students of Class IV of Sharadasharam Vidyamandir School, Dadar (West) have been informed to shift to Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) board for Class V from Secondary School Certificate (SSC) board. Parents complained they do not want to shift their children, but the school is forcing them to do so.
Parents along with leaders of Yuva Sena Sainath Durge and others approached the school on Monday over the issue. Parents complained the school did not inform them prior about this shift but is compelling them to shift their children from SSC board to adopt ICSE board in Class V. Parents revealed their children have been studying SSC curriculum from Class 1 till Class IV. And now suddenly the school wants them to study and learn the ICSE curriculum in Class V which is not possible. Rahul Morvekar, a parent said, “Our children have learned a particular pattern since childhood and they cannot suddenly change this method. Our children will not be able to cope with the ICSE curriculum as it is tougher and quite different than the state board. Besides, the school did not inform us prior about this change.”
On the other hand, the school management authorities claimed they have started ICSE board from Class I. Subhash Jadhav, administrative officer of the school management, said, “We will hold a meeting with our management members to take a decision on this issue. Since we have started ICSE board we want the students to shift to it in Class V and adopt the new curriculum. We have taken into consideration the issues raised by parents and we will take a decision in our management meeting.”
The school authorities stated they had informed the Parents Teachers’ Association (PTA) about this change. But parents claimed the PTA was just informed, but the PTA was not included in the decision making process. “Members of PTA were informed about this change but they were not involved when this shift was being discussed or decided,” Morvekar added.
In addition, parents claimed this shift would change the fee structure and increase the fees due to the introduction of a new board. A parent said, “The current fees are low as it is as per the state board but if ICSE is introduced then the fees will increase as it is a different board. The school should inform and discuss these factors with us as it will directly affect us and our children. We want to know what exactly is ICSE board and get clarity about curriculum, fee structure, learning and teaching process or else we will not shift our children.”