West Bengal becomes first state to adopt semester system in Class 12 board exams
West Bengal has become the first state in India to fully move to a semester-based exam system for its Class 12 (Higher Secondary) board exams. The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) confirmed that from the 2025-26 academic session, students will no longer follow the annual exam format, which had been in place since 1978.
While declaring the WB Class 12 result on Wednesday, WBCHSE President Chiranjib Bhattacharya announced that the third semester exams will be held between September 8 and 22, and the fourth semester from February 12 to 27. Except for a few subjects like music and vocational streams, most papers will be of 1 hour and 15 minutes duration.
The final score will be based on cumulative performance across both semesters. The first and third semesters will include multiple-choice questions, while the second and fourth will focus on short and descriptive answers to build writing ability. NEW SUBJECTS AND A SECOND CHANCE FOR FAILING STUDENTS
The board is also rolling out new subjects such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Applied AI, and Science of Well-Being. Bhattacharya said this would offer students more flexibility and course variety.
Students who failed the 2024-25 HS exams can opt into the new system, but only through their schools.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal HS results were announced on May 7. Over 4.3 lakh out of 4.7 lakh students passed, with Science students recording a pass percentage of 99.46%. Commerce followed with 97.52%, and Arts stood at 88.25%.
(With PTI inputs)
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