India's Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked its affiliated schools to discontinue the international curriculum (CBSE-i), which was launched in 2010-2011.

CBSE cited ‘operational difficulties including unavailability of quality reading material of global standards,’ reported Gulf Times.

A circular posted on the CBSE website asked all its affiliated schools in India and abroad to transfer all CBSE-i students to its main curriculum starting from the 2017-18 academic year.

The board clarified that the international stream had been launched on a pilot basis and that the matter had been referred to the CBSE’s governing body.

As per the notification, schools that have approval for CBSE-i curriculum, such as those in Qatar, should discontinue the syllabus from the next academic session.

Students who are affected by this decision will be promoted to the next class and accommodated in the CBSE main curriculum.

For schools in Qatar and other Gulf countries, the new academic year starts from April and the new step could have certain ramifications.

Birla Public School, MES Indian School, Shantiniketan Indian School and Doha Modern Indian School are among those offering CBSE- i along with the main CBSE curriculum in Qatar.

Due to shortage of seats at Indian schools, many parents had opted to admit their children to the international stream, which involved higher fees. And some had complained of exploitation of the situation by schools. The CBSE decision has come as a great relief to these parents. However, not all parents are happy. Many are worried that the mid-way shift to a new curriculum would affect their children's academic prospects.