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From CBSE and ICSE classes to German grades
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Janine El-Saghir
Janine El Saghir is an editor at How-to-Germany.com, where she specializes in the practical aspects of daily life and integration for expatriates. With years of...
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Erkan Boga is the founder and CEO of qmedia GmbH, the publishing house behind How-to-Germany.com. He established the platform with the clear vision of creating...
- Class 1 and grade 1 both start at six, so an Indian child usually keeps its class number in a German school.
- No national exam board like the CBSE or CISCE. Each of the 16 states sets its own curriculum and exams, and children split into school types after grade 4 (grade 6 in Berlin and Brandenburg).
- Class 12 alone does not open a German university. From winter semester 2026/2027 it needs at least 70% for the preparatory year, and a year of bachelor’s study on top for direct entry.
For Indian families the class numbers are the easy part. The harder adjustment is the structure around them: German school types separate at about age ten in most states, there is no national board, and the school leaving certificate that counts is the Abitur. Your child needs a school place soon after you register your address: enrolling at a German school. Every family member also needs health cover from the first day: family health insurance in Germany.
Indian classes and German grades by age
| Age | India | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 | Foundational stage: three years of Anganwadi or pre-school | Kita (Kindergarten) |
| 6 | Class 1, foundational stage continues | Grade 1, Grundschule |
| 8 | Class 3, preparatory stage begins | Grade 3 |
| 10 | Class 5 | Grade 5: secondary school begins, except in Berlin and Brandenburg |
| 11 | Class 6, middle stage begins | Grade 6 |
| 14 | Class 9, secondary stage begins | Grade 9: the year that can end with the first certificate |
| 15 | Class 10, board exam | Grade 10: intermediate certificate, or the move up to the Gymnasium’s final phase |
| 17 | Class 12, board exam | Grade 12: final year and Abitur in states with the shorter Gymnasium |
| 18 | University | Grade 13: final year where the Gymnasium has nine years |
| Typical ages. India: National Education Policy 2020 (stages 5+3+3+4 for ages 3 to 18, board exams in Classes 10 and 12 continue). Germany: each state fixes a cut-off date for the sixth birthday, somewhere from 30 June to 30 September. Sources: Government of India, Eurydice Germany, retrieved 8 November 2026. | ||
In India, education is free and compulsory from six to fourteen, Class 1 to Class 8. In Germany the duty runs for nine full-time years, ten in Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen and Thuringia, followed by part-time vocational school for those who leave full-time education. German public schools are free at every level.
Boards vs states
An Indian school follows a board: the CBSE with its Secondary School Examination in Class 10 and Senior School Certificate Examination in Class 12, the CISCE with the ICSE and ISC, or a state board. Germany has no national board at all. The 16 states set curricula and exams, and they keep their certificates comparable through joint standards. In almost all states the ministry sets the Abitur exam papers for the whole state. Since 2017 a shared pool of exam tasks has been available to the states for German, English, French and math, and from 2025 also for biology, chemistry and physics.
So a move between German states also means a change of curriculum. All states accept each other’s certificates after grades 9 and 10.
The split after grade 4
In India the big choice comes late, with the board exams and the stream a student takes. German children are sorted much earlier. At the end of grade 4 (grade 6 in Berlin and Brandenburg) the primary school recommends a secondary school type, and depending on the state that recommendation guides or decides the choice. The Gymnasium leads to the Abitur, other types to the certificates after grades 9 and 10, and comprehensive schools offer all of them. A child arriving at eight or nine without German has little time before that recommendation, so ask the school how your state handles it. The school types state by state: the German school system.
Indian board exams have long tied students to a single stream, which the 2020 policy wants to loosen. The Abitur asks for a spread instead: the exams cover four or five subjects across languages and the arts, the social sciences, and math and science, and two of them must come from German, a foreign language and math.
Class 12 and German universities
| What you have | What it opens |
|---|---|
| Class 12 with at least 70% of the maximum marks, plus the APS certificate | Eligibility for a Studienkolleg, the preparatory course, leading to subject-restricted admission. Places are limited, and there is no right to one. |
| Class 12 with at least 70%, APS certificate, plus one successfully completed year of a bachelor’s program at a recognized university | Direct admission to the same field of study and closely related subjects |
| Passed JEE Main and JEE Advanced | Include the results: uni-assist considers JEE results only if both exams were passed |
| The 70% threshold applies to every examining board, CBSE, CISCE and state boards alike. The universities decide on admission. Sources: Academic Evaluation Centre APS India, update of 23 February 2026, uni-assist, country information India, retrieved 8 November 2026. | |
The Studienkolleg lasts two semesters, shorter or longer in justified cases, and ends with an assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung). It runs in tracks by field: T for technology, math and the natural sciences, M for medicine and biology, W for business and the social sciences, and S/G for languages, the humanities and the arts. A teenager who completes the Abitur in a German school skips all of this. How the Abitur compares with the IB and other certificates: the Abitur and its equivalents.
Percentages vs the 1 to 6 scale
Indian Class 12 results are compared as a share of the maximum marks, and the CISCE has set its pass marks at 33% for Class 10 and 35% for Class 12 since 2018. German schools grade from 1 (very good) to 6, with 4 (adequate) as the lowest mark that is enough, and use points from 15 to 0 in the final two years. German universities turn a foreign result into a German grade with the modified Bavarian formula: German grades and the conversion.
Bottom line
With a child under ten, the German system is the straight path: German first, then the recommendation after grade 4. With a teenager who will study in Germany, aim for 70% in Class 12 at the least, or let the child finish with the Abitur here.
Part of education in Germany. Also compared: German vs US schools · German vs UK schools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually, if the school or university documents come from an Indian institution. APS India checks those documents, and its certificate is generally part of the German student visa application. Nationality does not matter. An exemption can apply, for example when the highest school qualification is an international one such as the IB. Plan the APS step early, because the visa depends on it.
Yes. The threshold refers to 70% of the maximum overall marks on the Class 12 certificate, whichever board issued it. It applies to admissions from winter semester 2026/2027. APS applications submitted before 15 March 2026 are assessed under the earlier criteria.
The university. APS verifies the documents and checks them against the German evaluation criteria, but it is not involved in admission decisions. That also applies after a Studienkolleg: each university decides on its own applicants.
Sources (as of 8 November 2026)
Sources (as of 8 November 2026)
- Government of India, National Education Policy 2020 and Press Information Bureau, Cabinet approves National Education Policy 2020: 5+3+3+4 structure, Class 1 at six, board exams in Classes 10 and 12.
- Comptroller and Auditor General of India, performance audit of the Right to Education Act (2017): free and compulsory education from six to fourteen.
- Central Board of Secondary Education, examination bye-laws; Press Information Bureau, CISCE pass marks for Class X and XII (2018) and Class XII board exams of CBSE and state boards (2021).
- Eurydice, European Commission, Germany: organisation of the education system, lower secondary education, assessment in lower secondary and upper secondary education (Abitur exams and task pools).
- Academic Evaluation Centre APS India, update on higher education eligibility requirements (23 February 2026) and FAQ; uni-assist, country information India.
- Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education (KMK), framework rules for the Studienkolleg and the assessment test and agreement on the overall grade of foreign school-leaving certificates (both in German).