– Mita Mukherjee

The West Bengal state secondary and higher secondary boards will take a decision on reducing the Classes X and XII syllabuses after the state government takes the call on when the two school-leaving examinations can be held next year, officials of the boards said on Saturday.   

The syllabuses may not be reduced if the tests get postponed for too long but the extent of curtailment of syllabus will be “more” if the board examinations are held on time next year, the officials said.

Kalyanmoy Ganguly, president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education told EducationWorld the state government will examine the Covid-19 situation in Bengal and take the decision on whether the 2021 secondary examinations can be held in February or later.

“It is important to know whether the exams will be delayed or not. The extent of the reduction will be more if the exams are held in February.  Exclusion of chapters may not be needed at all if the exams get delayed for too long,” Ganguly, told Education World.

Nearly 11 lakh candidates will appear in the 2021 Madhyamik (Class X) examinations.

The state Madhyamik examinations(Class X) is held in February end. The Higher Secondary (Class XII) is held in mid-March.

Mahua Das, president of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education too said the extent of curtailment of the Class XII syllabus will depend on when the tests are to be held.

“The extent of reduction will be more if the government decides to hold the Higher Secondary Examinations in March. The reduction will be little less if the tests are postponed till April. But the syllabus may not have to be reduced if the government decides to hold the test in June,” Das told EducationWorld.

Close to 8 lakh examinees will write the Higher Secondary (Class XII) examinations next year.

Students studying in Class X and XII in schools under the state boards are expecting syllabus reduction mainly because many institutions have not been able to cover the syllabuses to the extent they were supposed to complete till September.

Brahmachari Turiyachaitanya, headmaster of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya Narendrapur, run by the Ramakrishna Mission monks said they were “anxiously” waiting to know the syllabus for the 2021 Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations.

“Students had been taught through online teaching since March. Some students need some extra coaching. We can start offering the special coaching once the boards announce the syllabus,” Brahmachari Turiyachaitanya told EducationWorld.

Read: Odisha slashes school syllabus by 30 per cent

Also read: Karnataka: Syllabus pruning row

Also read: Delhi govt tells CBSE to postpone board exams 2021 to May, reduce syllabus