WBCHSE: West Bengal To Introduce Semester System In Class 11 From 2024-25 Session

The West Bengal government has approved the proposal from WBCHSE to implement a semester system at the higher secondary level starting from the upcoming academic session.

Bengal HS council announces introduction of semester system in class 11 from coming session.

Source : PTI

The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) has announced that it will be implementing a semester system in Class 11 beginning from the academic session of 2024-25. Subsequently, the system will be extended to Class 12 starting from the academic session of 2025-26. The council has obtained approval from the state school education department to implement the semester system at the higher secondary level in schools.

“On behalf of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, we are glad to announce that the school education department, government of West Bengal, has given us permission to introduce the semester system at the higher secondary level from the academic session 2024-25 for Class 11 and subsequently from the academic session 2025-26 for Class 12,” said council president Chiranjib Bhattacharjee in an official notification.

''The detailed syllabus and semester-wise implementation strategy will be uploaded soon,'' the council added.

The draft of the new state education policy, released last August, recommended the implementation of a semester-based education system at the higher secondary level, along with the division of examinations into two phases.

The council's proposal aimed to restructure the existing two-year examination system into a four-semester module, with board exams scheduled after the completion of the third and fourth semesters.

Additionally, it suggested conducting the third-semester exam in a multiple-choice question (MCQ) format.

In October of the previous year, the West Bengal school education department made the decision to establish a committee comprising four members tasked with developing a framework and timeline for the implementation of the semester system in higher classes. The committee comprised the commissioner of school education, the council president, the joint director of school education Chinmoyee Pattanayak, and a member of the council. The panel was required to submit its report by November.

The committee's responsibilities include examining the proposal, assessing prevailing practices on the subject and aligning decisions with the state education policy for academic sessions.