Structure of State Board Schools

Most of the state board schools have a similar structure or board composition which comprises of:

·         Chairman

·         Vice-Chairman

·         Director

·         Examination Controller

·         Secretary

·         Joint Secretary

There may be different department heads depending upon the divisions and branches of each state board. Usually every State Board has different sections or committees which work independently on day-to-day work and matters related to their section. Some of the common committees in state boards are:

·         Administrative Committee

·         Examination Committee

·         Account & Finance Department

·         Education Committee

·         Certificate Section

·         Computer Branch

·         Magazine Advisory Board etc.

Variation from State to State 

Uniform structure of school education, the 10+2 system is adopted by each state. However, within states and UTs there is a variation in the grade levels constituting- primary, upper primary and high secondary school stages.  There are variations in the following also:

Admission age for class1

Language of instruction

Public Examination

Number of working days

Vacation period

Fee structure

Age Criteria for Admission

The age for the class 1 of the primary school admissions varies from 5+ to 6+ years. For example, in Gujarat there is 5+ years optional and 6+ years compulsory age for admission to class 1. In Lakshadweep it is 51/2 years.

Academic Session

The academic session begins from different months in the states according to their location from north to south. In hilly region the long vacation period commence in summers while in other staes it falls in summer months.

State Board Curriculum

State board curriculum is designed by the Department of Education of the concerned State Government which means each state has its own syllabus and it varies from state to state. Each state educational board looks into the educational issues pertaining to their system and region.

The curriculum level of state board education is usually considered to be easier than the national boards (CBSE/ ICSE). So it’s easier for a student with average IQ to complete his/her schooling successfully under this board.

 The curriculum usually does not focus on the competency for the medical as well as engineering exams, to overcome this all the state boards of India are adopting common curriculum for science and mathematics in std XI and XII.  The national boards have more indepth curriculum and state boards are already in the process of revamping their curriculum. In this process the state boards have not adopted textbooks created by National Council of Education Research and Training(NCERT) but will design their own study material.

The state boards have two compulsory languages in their syllabus. The syllabus is largely more textual in content and involves little analytical thinking.

State Board Examinations

Most of the states conduct the following examinations:

·         Middle standard examination (Class 8)

·         Matriculation examination (Class 10)

·         Senior Secondary Examination (Class 12)

Some of the state boards also conduct open school examinations for matriculation and senior secondary.

State board usually sets up a matriculation board that conducts examinations up to class 10. The next two years of examination are conducted as per state board syllabus. The matriculation syllabus is considered to be higher than the state board syllabus but lower than CBSE/ICSE syllabus.

Affiliation/Accreditation Process

The state board school must be recognized by Department of Education as prescribed standards by the concerned state in order to complete their affiliation process.

 NBA (National Board of Accreditation) is an independent body which is responsible for accreditation to all educational institutions under the state board. The accreditation is to be renewed after every 3 years.

If there is uncertainty in the status or nature of a program or if there are some shortfalls that exist which call for an interim review, a provisional accreditation may be granted for two academic years.

Why State Boards?

Parents who do not have transferable jobs and usually want their children to study in the same state opt for schools affiliated to state board.

Apart from being cheap in terms of fee structures, these schools stress upon topics and content of local relevance. Such schools are reasonably prevalent within the state and also have the state language as their main language subject. 

Transition from state high schools to state colleges also becomes easy. The higher education of each state has substantial quota for the state educated students. State’s preferential policy for domicile holders and student passed out from the same state board plays crucial role for college admission process after high schools or junior colleges in some state.