Three schools in the city and one in Kottayam have opted for the new optional alternative syllabus for computer science that has been introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for 2017-18 for Class I to VIII.
The new syllabus loks on problem solving skills that are essential for computer programming rather than memorizing the programme.
'The schools include Global Public School in Thiruvaniyoor; Chinmaya Vidyalaya in Vaduthala; Cochin Refineries School and Excelsior English School in Kottayam. We plan to implement the new syllabus in India by 2030,' said Premlata Shaji, a member of the CBSE computer science expert group.
Over 100 students from 30 schools in the city attended a workshop, organized by Amrita University in Kollam, at Cochin Refineries School on Saturday.
'We held a workshop for teachers in November 2016 and informed them that we would be holding a similar workshop for their students in January,' said Premlata.
'We initially informed teachers that they can send four students each, but teachers started asking if they could send more students. We also got great support from IT companies in the city who are willing to support us for this initiative,' she said.
'This is an optional alternative. But in the years to come, the computer science syllabus will move in this direction as the current syllabus is becoming obsolete,' she added.
Anup Kalbalia, a tech lead from Directi in Mumbai, who had arrived in Kochi for the workshop said, 'There is a myth that India create the best IT engineers in the world, which is not true.'