How NCERT and CBSE are Different?

Students often wonder about the difference between NCERT vs CBSE. NCERT is a publishing organisation in charge of publishing books for the subjects of CBSE. In contrast, CBSE is an education board that regulates secondary education in schools affiliated with it. Moreover, NCERT books are followed by a majority of CBSE-affiliated schools.

What is the Difference Between NCERT vs CBSE?

Let us discuss the difference between NCERT vs CBSE in this section. CBSE is a well-known board of education responsible for administering board exams for public & private schools in India. Also, CBSE guides its affiliated schools to use the NCERT curriculum and textbooks. 

On the other hand, NCERT is a publishing body that publishes CBSE books for classes 1st to 12th. It is an autonomous educational resource organisation formed by the Government of India. The organisation aims to improve the quality of education in schools in India.

Now that the students know the difference between NCERT vs CBSE let us find out more about each of these organisations.

What is NCERT?

NCERT is short for National Council of Education Research and Training. It is a reputable publishing organisation that supports and advises central and state boards on education-related affairs. As discussed above, it publishes books for CBSE-affiliated schools for grades 1st to 12th.

The Government of India formed NCERT in 1961, and NCERT publishes textbooks according to government policies only. Candidates can check out the official portal of NCERT: www.ncert.in, for further details pertaining to the publishing body.

Objectives of NCERT

Following are some of the major objectives of NCERT:

• It prepares and publishes study materials, including books, newsletters, journals, and more. 
• It conducts training programs for teachers, both pre-service and in-service.
• It creates innovative techniques and practices related to education.
• It coordinates and collaborates with educational departments of the state, NGOs, and other institutions. 
• It acts as a nodal agency in order to universalise elementary education.

Advantages of NCERT Books

Following are some of the benefits of studying through NCERT books, especially for CBSE board students:

• Provides in-depth knowledge in simple language: NCERT books contain authentic and up-to-date information written by subject experts. Moreover, they offer detailed information for every topic in simple language. Therefore, CBSE students must study from NCERT books meticulously to clarify all their doubts.
• Follows CBSE curriculum strictly: NCERT books strictly follow the curriculum designed by CBSE. Therefore, these textbooks are sufficient when it comes to CBSE board exam preparation. Even in the past years’ papers, students will find all the NCERT-based questions.
• Clears all basic concepts: An NCERT book is the best source for students to master fundamental concepts. Once they are through with the basics, they can solve all types of problems easily. 
• Includes various practice problems: NCERT books consist of a variety of questions of different difficulty levels. Students must practice all the questions thoroughly to gain the best possible results.

What is CBSE?

CBSE stands for Central Board of Secondary Education. It is the primary board responsible for organising exams in its affiliated public and private schools. The Indian government established it in 1962 to develop a unified educational system in India. Students can visit the official website: www.cbse.nic.in, for more information related to CBSE.

Objectives of CBSE

The main aim of CBSE is to regulate secondary education in educational institutions around the country. Following are some other objectives of CBSE.

• It determines relevant approaches to academic activities so that students get access to stress-free, student-centred, and holistic education. Moreover, it makes sure that there is no compromise on the quality of education.
• It monitors the quality of academic activities by obtaining feedback from various stakeholders.
• It establishes norms to organise several academic activities and coordinates training programs.
• It devises innovative methods to achieve academic excellence along with ensuring compliance with pedagogical, social, and psychological principles.
• It encourages educational institutions to document a student’s progress in a way that is teacher and student-friendly.
• It plans to achieve benchmarks in the quality of school education, keeping in mind the National goals.
• It conducts a number of capacity-building programs for teachers so that they can develop their professional competencies. 
• It prescribes examination rules and administers public exams at the end of 10th and 12th grades. Moreover, its role is to provide qualifying certificates to students of the affiliated institutions.
• It updates the syllabus and exam instructions at frequent intervals to maintain educational standards.
• It strives to meet the education-related requirements of candidates whose parents are working in transferable jobs.
• It affiliates institutions for examination purposes and works on raising the academic standards of the country.

What is the Relationship Between NCERT vs CBSE?

Candidates must have understood the difference between NCERT vs CBSE from the above discussion. However, the two organisations also have a connection and complement each other.

NCERT is closely associated with CBSE as the CBSE board directs its affiliated institutions to refer to NCERT books. In other words, NCERT recognises CBSE. 

Students can expect questions from NCERT books in their 10th and 12th board exams. Even exams of other classes in CBSE-affiliated schools involve direct questions from NCERT books. With the help of these textbooks, candidates gain a better understanding of the topics and chapters. Further, it helps candidates in improving their grades or scores during examinations. 

Is it Compulsory to Recommend NCERT Books for CBSE Affiliated Schools?

It is not mandatory for CBSE schools to follow NCERT textbooks. However, the language of NCERT books is simple and easy to understand. Moreover, several subject matter experts conduct comprehensive research to write chapters for NCERT books. 

NCERT books also provide a clear and comprehensive understanding of every concept. Moreover, these books are extremely useful for students in their board exam preparation. The previous years’ questions papers of CBSE include questions from NCERT books only.

Conclusion

Students must have got clarity on the difference between NCERT vs CBSE. Though CBSE and NCERT are two separate organisations, they are closely related to each other. CBSE guides all its affiliated schools to use NCERT books in classes. Additionally, students can score good marks on their board papers by mastering basic concepts and their applications through NCERT books. Moreover, the CBSE board examinations do not include questions from sources other than NCERT books.