New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is working on a new roadmap to reduce the growing dependence on private coaching centers. A CBSE expert committee has recommended the establishment of Centers for Advanced Studies (CAS) in schools to guide students preparing for engineering, medical, law, and other competitive entrance exams such as IIT JEE, NEET, CUET, and CLAT.
Reducing Reliance on Coaching
According to the committee, the increasing culture of dummy schools and the heavy dependence on coaching is undermining regular school education. To address this, CAS will be set up within existing CBSE-affiliated schools, allowing students to prepare for competitive exams during school hours. Enrollment in these centers will be voluntary, and students will retain the option to continue in standard classes.
Importantly, no collaboration with coaching institutes will be permitted. Instead, schools may invite faculty from reputed higher education institutions to provide specialized inputs.
CAS Structure and Curriculum
CAS will function within the school campus with classes held alongside regular school timings.
Students will have the freedom to opt in or opt out of CAS.
Separate teachers will be appointed for CAS, or schools may train their existing teachers for advanced preparation.
Subjects such as Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, Legal Studies, Accounts, and Economics will be taught at advanced levels.
Like the existing two-level system in Class 10 and 12 Mathematics, similar curriculum tiers will be introduced for other subjects.
The committee clarified that there will be no discrimination against students who do not opt for CAS.
Transparent Enrollment & Teacher Guidelines
Schools will not be allowed to start franchise or dummy schools under the CAS model.
Students and parents will undergo counselling sessions before opting for CAS.
Selection of students will follow a transparent process.
Specialized preparation for exams like NEET, JEE, CUET, and CLAT will be provided under this system.
Professor of Practice Model
The Ministry of Education’s high-level committee has also suggested adopting the Professor of Practice model in schools. Under this initiative:
School teachers will undergo professional development programs to understand competitive exam strategies.
Domain experts from industry and academia may be invited as visiting faculty, offering students practical insights and strategies for national-level exams.
Study Material to be Developed by CBSE
The CBSE will design specialized teaching resources aligned with competitive exams. These may include:
Digital study material for advanced-level subjects.
Regular assignments and handouts for practice.
Module-based assignment booklets prepared by teachers for each subject.
The Way Forward
With the decision to continue 50% competency-based questions in board exams, CBSE believes that introducing CAS will not only support competitive exam preparation but also strengthen classroom teaching with a focus on skills and application.