Delhi govt signs MoU with IB board for new state board

The Delhi government on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Baccalaureate (IB) for the Delhi Board of School Education. The MoU was signed in the presence of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and other education department officials.

“The Delhi government signs an MoU with International Baccalaureate (IB) Board. IB will be associated with the upcoming Delhi Board of School Education. Now Delhi’s Education Revolution will reach newer heights with DBSE and IB collaboration,” Kejriwal tweeted Wednesday.

The education department has roped in multiple knowledge partners for its state board, including the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which will provide technical and managerial support to the board and the Schools of Specialised Excellence (SoSE).

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In March, the Delhi Cabinet had approved setting up 100 such schools of specialised excellence. The existing resource-rich government schools – including Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya and Schools of Excellence – have been converted into SoSE and will begin admissions for classes 9 and 11 this month.

The Delhi government announced last month that 30 government schools will be affiliated to the newly-formed state board in 2021-22 academic session out of which 20 will be SoSE offering specialised education in four domains — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Humanities, Performing and Visual Arts and “high- end 21st Century Skills”.

Of these 20 SoSEs in the first phase, eight schools will specialise in STEM, five schools each will specialise in humanities and skills, and two in performing and visual arts. “In year two, a total of about 100 SoSE will be formed– with all four domains in every educational zone of Delhi, so that children of all parts of the city can access specialised schools in their neighbourhoods,” the government said.

“In the first year, admissions will be offered at the 9th grade level in SoSEs in humanities, performing and visual arts, and high-end 21st Century skills, whereas, in the STEM schools, admissions will be offered at the 9th and 11th grade levels. Students seeking admission in SoSEs will have to take an aptitude test. The schedule of admission will be announced later,” said an education department official.