IANS

New Delhi, May 26: Giving an international face to Indian education, the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) Tuesday launched an upgraded international syllabus for its schools abroad.

The new curriculum, which focuses on the education needs of Indian diaspora as well as local communities, was launched by Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal at Indian High School in Dubai, according to a official press release here.

The curriculum which will be launched in 30 schools in nine countries aims at carrying forward the basic strength of the Indian system of education and promoting critical and creative skills of the students.

Speaking at the function, Sibal emphasised the need for quality education for all children, with learning being a continuous and comprehensive process.

"We need a globalised community of children. I hope that it would grow and provide an alternative international curriculum to the students, both of the Indian diaspora and to local citizens in the countries," he said.

The board aims to expand the curriculum to its other schools aboard as well in a phased manner.

The syllabus has been designed keeping in view the foundations of the National Curricular Framework (NCF 2005) and the experience gathered by the board over the last seven decades in imparting effective learning to millions of learners, many of whom are now global citizens.

The earlier curriculum focused largely on issues related to Indian interest which were proving a hurdle in expanding the coverage to international students.

The CBSE at present has 74 schools abroad, 63 of them in Gulf countries alone.