– Mita Mukerjee

The syllabuses for Class X and XII students who will appear in the state Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations in West Bengal next year will be reduced by 30 to35 per cent, Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee announced on Wednesday.

The state government had recently set up a committee to examine the progress of teaching and learning in state board affiliated schools through the online classes during the pandemic. The committee was also assigned to examine whether curtailing the syllabuses of Class X and XII students was required and to what extent the syllabuses could be reduced.

The expert panel has submitted its report to the government where it has recommended 30 to 35 per cent reduction of the syllabuses for Class X and XII , Partha Chatterjee told reporters at a press conference today.

But he said the government was yet to decide whether the two state board exams slated in February and March would be delayed or not, Partha Chatterjee said.

The government has also not finalised its decision on reopening of the schools in West Bengal, the minister said.

“Schools in Bengal had remained closed for a long time. It was not possible for the schools to conduct regular classes during the closure. The government had tried its best to reach out to the students through several ways. For example, online teaching was organized by the government through TV channels and state run portals in addition to the online classes offered by the individual schools. But normal teaching had been affected despite these measures . The expert committee has recommended 30 to35 per cent reduction of syllabus for the 2021 Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinees.  We (government) have accepted it for the interest of the students,” Partha Chatterjee said.

The subject wise reduced syllabuses will be soon announced by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education that conducts the Madhyamik (Class X) exam and the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Examinations that holds the Higher Secondary (Class XII) exam.

Asked when the government plans to reopen the schools in the state for resuming on-campus classes, the minister said the decision will be taken considering the Covid-situation.

He said the schools had remained closed for several months. The government has already started preparations to overhaul the infrastructure facilities in the schools so that students do not get exposed to health hazards when they return to the campuses.

On an average more than 3500 people were daily getting infected with Covid-19 in Bengal at present. Nearly 8120 people have died out of Covid-19 in the state.  

 The state Madhyamik is held in February end and Higher Secondary in mid-March every year..

Nearly 11 lakh students will appear in Madhyamik and around eight lakh in Higher Secondary.

Also read:

ICSE council seeks feedback on syllabus, online teaching and assessment

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