There are about 8,300 schools affiliated with CBSE, which include Kendriya Vidyalayas, government, independent and Navodaya Vidyalayas, located in India and 20 other countries of the world.

The National Institute of Open Schooling: An autonomous organisation of the HRD ministry, established in 1989. The largest open schooling system in the world, it has about 13 lakh students on the roll.

Kendriya Vidyalaya: Started by the Union government in 1962 to provide uninterrupted education to the children of transferable Central government employees. Initially, 20 regimental schools were taken over as Central Schools during the academic session 1963-64. This number has gone up to 931, including three abroad (Kathmandu, Moscow and Tehran). The HRD minister is the ex-officio chairman of the Kendriyya Vidyalaya Sangathan.

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya: Run by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, an autonomous organisation under the HRD ministry. They are fully residential, co-educational institutions, providing education up to senior secondary stage. The scheme started in 1985-86 with two schools and has now grown to 540 schools in 34 states and UTs with 1.76 lakh students on rolls. Admission is made at the level of Class VI through a test.

(with Neha Sharma)