Procedure and Requirements for opening a CBSE school in India

The Central Board of Secondary Education (abbreviated as CBSE) is a Board of Education for public and private schools, under the Union Government of India. It supports various schools in imparting

knowledge and maintaining uniform standards. Besides this, it is a self-financing body which is responsible for developing the curriculum for schools that are affiliated to it. CBSE affiliates all Kendriya Vidyalayas, all Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, private schools, and most of the schools approved by central government of India. Moreover, the board has established certain norms that need to be followed by these schools.

However, opening a CBSE school anywhere in India demands a lot of commitment and a large amount of investment. However, the unending demand for more schools has paved way for budding entrepreneurs to start their own venture.

Examinations: The board conducts final examinations every spring for All India Senior School Certificate Examination (AISSCE) for Class 10 and 12.The board also annually conducts the AIEEE exam for admission to undergraduate courses in engineering and architecture in numerous colleges spread over India. It also conducts AIPMT (All India Pre Medical Test) for admission to major medical colleges in India.

The following essentials need to be taken care of while opening a CBSE school:

Finance/capital - Investment is the first pre-requisite for opening a school anywhere in India. This investment should accommodate all the necessary infrastructure & furniture, teaching & sports equipment, laboratory apparatuses, stationary etc. Typically, an investment of around 2 to 3 Crores is required. This can be arranged by approaching financial institutions or banks that provide loans for this purpose.
Registration - Registration of the school committee under a Trust/Society is the next important step. It is essential to get a proper guidance related to all the rules & regulations for the proper running of the school.

Site & land - The minimum land area for opening a CBSE school in a metropolitan city with a population exceeding 25 lakhs is approximately 1 acre which can further vary in accordance with the type of school and the location you choose. The land requirement is almost the same in hilly areas also. However, in all the other places, the land area should not be less than 2 acres. The land can either be leased (with a rental agreement of minimum 30 years) or can be your own property. Further, the site chosen should be such that it provides easy accessibility from all modes of transport.

Procurement of NOC - The NOC (NO-Objection Certificate) needs to be obtained from the government of the state where you are planning to open a CBSE school because then only you will be able to start the construction of your school.

Construction - On one part of the land, a proper school building should be constructed depending upon the number of students to be accommodated in the school. Besides this, a playground big enough to accommodate all the necessary sports and Extra-curricular facilities should be maintained on the remaining part of the land.

CBSE affiliation - For obtaining CBSE affiliation, a list of documents namely, the NOC obtained from state government, approval from the Municipal Corporation of the state and clearance from the Health department needs to be submitted to the board authority.

Recruitment - Recruiting a qualified and experienced staff is essential to create & maintain excellent education system in the school.

Promotion - Finally, marketing and advertising your school in the neighboring areas is important for the successful establishment of your school. This will further help you to attract more number of admissions.

Any other necessary requisites can be dealt after the establishment once the school starts running.

Grading System: A better way to assess knowledge

Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements of varying levels of achievement in a course. Grades can be assigned in letters (for example A, B, C, D, E or F), as a range (for example 1 to 6), as a percentage of a total number correct, as a number out of a possible total (for example out of 20 or 100), or as descriptors (excellent, great, satisfactory, needs improvement). In some countries, all grades from all current classes are averaged to create a grade point average (GPA) for the marking period. 

Grading System is a better way of assessment compared to giving numbers (or %) and measuring the cramming power rather than knowledge gain. In Indian Education system a person is believe to be a master of all rather than working on the strength of a student he/she is expected to perform excellent in every subject( to get excellent % somewhere in 90z). Parental pressure as well peer pressure to perform well academically is so much that some students end up committing suicide by getting over stressed and scared. Education should be structured in such a manner that it becomes a well appreciated choice rather than a mere obligation. The grades should be categorized in such a manner that the student who gets an E is not insulted to have flunked rather he/she should be suggested to improve and work hard for better grades. Parameters set for not promoting to next class should not be restricted to marks in tests rather by introducing assignments on timely basis throughout the year can be of a good help in assessing knowledge gained.

The concept that every child is gifted with individual capabilities can help in making the education system better. If we keep stretching the kid to get the best out of him by making him the master of all the subjects then we might end up killing his best capability in his area of interest. By making education a rat race with cut throat competition we are just killing a child’s creativity and his capability to make a difference in his/her area of interest. A person who is good with numbers need not always be good in literature or history. We must try and analyze a child’s interest from the very beginning and try to make him/her master the skills according to his/her interest. But if we keep concentrating on his/her % then might be we lose a possible “Einstein” or “Steve Jobs”. Let’s try and assess knowledge gained rather than making children compete with each other for higher scores.