Studying will never be the same again! Now, read Harry Potter, Tintin in ICSE schools

English literature classes in ICSE schools will no more be the same. The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) has prescribed some of the most popular books of our times -Harry Potter included -for junior and middle-school students while laying down a uniform syllabus for all schools to follow from the 2017-18 session.

Most interestingly , it has introduced graphic novels -from Amar Chitra Katha to Tintin and Asterix to American cartoonist Art Spiegel man's Holocaust saga `Maus' -for all classes from III to VIII. This is a sea change from the time when students in ICSE schools would have their 'comic books' confiscated by teachers. Besides Harry Potter's magic, students will also get to enjoy the exploits of Feluda, Poirot and Holmes or set off on a life-altering adventure through Middleearth with Bilbo Baggins in Tolkien's `The Hobbit'. For those who want a dash of humour, there will be P G Wodehouse and lovers of classics will have their Dickens.There will also be a host of autobiographies from Anne Frank to Malala to APJ Abdul Kalam. Not to be left out, the little ones in classes I and II will get their fill of Noddy with lots of illustration.

Uttiya Gupta, a class VI student of Adamas International School, was ecstatic.“This is great news. I am a big fan of Tintin and Asterix as well as Harry Potter. Now, I would love to study them in class,“ he said.

“We welcome this move as children will enjoy their classes. Not everything will be serious reading,“ said Nabarun De, principal, Central Model School, Baranagar.

The CISCE introduced its uniform syllabus for 2017-18 in Lucknow on Wednesday .