Mita Mukherjee

Nearly 10 percent of students who enroll themselves in Class XI in Bengal’s higher secondary schools (HS) do not appear in the Class XII board examinations (HS).

The state HS council has found that the trend has been continuing for nine years and preliminary investigations have shown that the dropout students had not appeared in the Class XII board exam and left studies permanently.

According to officials of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, nearly 13 lakh students who registered themselves with the council in Class XI had not appeared in the HS examinations since 2016. The number of examinees even in the current 2024 HS exam was almost 70,000 less than the total number of students who enrolled in Class XI for studying the HS course in 2022.

As an initial step to track the dropout students, the council announced this year that students who cleared the Madhyamik (Class X) board exam in 2016 onwards would be allowed to take admission in Class XI for appearing in the 2026 HS exam.

The council found that the response was “very low”. Around 3000 students out of the 13 lakh dropouts have shown interest to resume studies.

“The council has found a mismatch between the number of students registering in Class XI and the number of candidates enrolling for the HS examination. Around seven to ten per cent students do not appear in the Class XII board exam. This trend has been continuing since 2016,” Chiranjib Bhattacharya, president of the HS council, told EducationWorld.

The poor response is an indication that most dropout students have left studies permanently. “There is a need to know why the students have left studies.”

 The higher secondary council introduced a semester system in Class XI and XII from the current 2024 -25 sessions, in which the annual examination of Class XI and the XII board examination will be split into two semesters each.

There is a plan to bring in a number of changes in the HS examination in a phased manner under the revised structure, including introduction of a combination of MCQs and descriptive questions.

In the new system the old single annual exams will not exist and instead students will be assessed by means of continuous evaluation process.

The council president said the semester system is more student-friendly and it is expected that the new structure will make it easier for students to score better.

The old single annual exam creates pressure and causes distress among students who face anxiety and humiliation. The council had been informed by schools and teachers that this could be one of the reasons for the exodus of students after Class XI.

“So, when we introduced the semester system we gave the option of re-registration so that students who discontinued their studies could come back,” said Bhattacharya.

“Unfortunately, the response is very low. Only 3000 students among the dropouts have responded and registered,” he said.

The council normally allows students to seek admission in Class XI maximum three years after they clear the Class X board exam.

Many students are still not aware about the details of the semester system and do not know how it is different from the old system.

“This could be one of the reasons behind the low response,” said Bhattacharya.

The council is planning a string of measures to attract more dropout students to the course. “ We are also trying to track the students and find out their present status, why they left studies and what they are doing now,” he said.

Also read: Bengal: Teacher crisis in Classes XI, XII in state-aided schools