Summiya Yasmeen

Gerry Arathoon, the chief executive and secretary of the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) since 2012, will retire on September 30 after 21 years at the council. CISCE is the country’s only private national board with over 2,800 of India’s top ranked private schools including The Doon School, Dehradun, The Shri Ram School, Delhi and Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai affiliated with it.

Arathoon signed up with CISCE’s Kolkata office way back in January 2002, moving to Delhi in 2006 as Deputy Secretary followed up as Additional Secretary. In 2012 he was appointed as Chief Executive and Secretary of the Council.

“I have had a very successful tenure. It has been a most rewarding and enriching experience for me to have personally witnessed CISCE’s growth and transition during this time. CISCE is recognised as one of the country’s premier education boards. The number of affiliated schools has risen to 2,800 with some schools abroad also affiliated with the board. Moreover during the past decade we were able to transition all our exam registration, payment and results processes to the digital mode,” said Arathoon in an exclusive interview with EducationWorld.

According to Arathoon, the board has been a pioneer in “education innovations and setting benchmarks”. “Many of the recommendations made in NEP 2020 were already implemented by the council. For instance the board was a pioneer in providing students flexibility in choice of subjects and setting exam question papers which test students critical thinking and application skills. Now as we move forward, when there is a paradigm shift in the education system, CISCE is at the cusp of achieving even greater success,” said Arathoon.

According to Arathoon, the council is all set to inaugurate a new office in Hyderabad later this year. This centre will also house a full-fledged teacher training academy.

The CISCE board is yet to appoint a successor, though it has already advertised for the position. Meanwhile an interim CEO from within the council’s top team is likely to be appointed.

Also read: 50 Leaders who can revive Indian education – Gerry Arathoon