2017 has been a happening year in the world of education. With many changes happening. Let us see what were the education news in India and Abroad that reached the headlines.

1. 31 state boards with CBSE had decided to go against the policy of moderation. Moderation is a policy where the boards are lenient in their correction and give extra marks are granted to students across the board exercise standardization, which will be implemented this year. It is expected that the CBSE Board Examinations would have lower percentages as boards had decided to go against moderation.

2. CBSE reverted to the traditional board exam system for Std X students with effect from sessions. A Major variation for the students appearing for Std X board exams in summer of 2018 will be that they will have to prepare for entire syllabus, as compared to their immediate predecessors, who had to tackle only the second half of textbooks. Next summer, CBSE Std X students will have the 80-20 (board-internal) marks pattern, the students will have to score a minimum of 33% in each separately.

3. The government has decided to scrap the no-detention policy for students from the next academic session. The decision was based on the representation from most of the States as they voiced against this plan and said that the standard of education had deteriorated because of the policy. Under the Right to Education Act, 2009, no child admitted to a school will be failed and made to repeat any class or expelled till the completion of elementary education covering Classes 1 to 8.

4. Both CBSE and ICSE have issued curriculums to their schools to Filter and Monitor their internet to avoid the risk of their students from playing the online game ‘Blue Whale Challenge.’ A workshop is proposed to be organized by the Association of ICSE schools in West Bengal for all its schools in the city. This is done to spread awareness among students about the danger involved in the exploitation of young minds by unscrupulous entities through social media and the risk of ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ and similar online games. The association will involve over 250 schools spread across West Bengal.

5. Union government finally introduced a standardized National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to all medical colleges in India. But its hasty implementation left the students confused over whether to follow the CBSE or the state syllabus?

6. From 2018 academic year, students of the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), will appear for examinations with new curricula that will include a revamped question paper pattern.

7. The council has decided to change the Classes 9, 10 and 12 syllabus to make sure that a significant number of students crack competitive exams. The changes have also focused on making curriculum lighter for Classes 9 and 10.

8. Class 9 to 10 in the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) will see a change in the subjects such as history, civics, geography, mathematics, and physics and Class 12 in the Indian School Certificate (ISC) exams. Most of the changes are expected in the science stream in the subjects namely physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology in the ISC (Class 12) exams. The question papers will also be framed as per CBSE pattern. According to the council, some changes will also be made to upgrade the accounting paper. These changes have been made keeping in mind the competitive exams.

Indian students, who have been heading to the US in ever increasing numbers in recent years, were wary of going to American institutions this year. This was because of the “TRUMP EFFECT.” 26% of US universities reported a decline in undergraduate applications from India and 15% decline in India’s graduate applications. An anti-immigrant rhetoric condition along with steeper visa fees and a possible lack of jobs scared off students from India from applying to US universities. Other events that affected the decline include the demonetization policy and the low value of the rupee against the US dollar.

Canadian universities reporting a boom in applications for 2017 – One country that gained by the loss due to the political situation in US and UK (BREXIT EFFECT) was Canada. Canadian universities reported a significant increase in the total foreign applications received this year. Many institutions reported an increase of 20–30% or more applications this year. The expanded recruiting by Canadian Schools and the relative affordability of Canadian education could be another reason for this increase.

Germany has been yet another country which has seen a double increase in the number of students flocking into its universities in 2017.Low Tuition fee, Large job opportunities were some of the causes that attributed to this increase.