Sharp fall in Post Publication Review & Scrutiny requests this yr: HS Edu Council data

Kolkata: The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) will declare the results of the normal Post Publication Review (PPR) and Post Publication Scrutiny (PPS) of Higher Secondary (HS) answer scripts on Friday, Council president Chiranjib Bhattacharya confirmed on Wednesday.

This year, the number of applications for normal PPR and PPS has seen a sharp decline. According to Council data, 42,593 applications were received in 2025, nearly 30 per cent lower than the 61,152 recorded last year.

The drop is particularly pronounced in PPR requests. In 2024, 40,497 answer scripts were submitted for review, whereas this year only 17,927 applications were received. On the other hand, PPS applications have risen slightly, from 20,655 last year to 24,665 in 2025.

Council officials primarily attributed the drop in applications to the new eligibility criteria introduced for PPR.

Under the revised norms, students were allowed to apply for PPR in a maximum of two subjects, and only if they had secured higher grades in at least three other subjects. Additionally, students were barred from requesting PPR for any subject in which scrutiny had already been sought. Applications for both PPR and PPS were restricted solely to theoretical papers.

“There was a growing tendency among students to apply for review even after securing the highest grades,” said Bhattacharya. “This resulted in an overwhelming number of PPR applications last year, which delayed the process and affected genuine candidates whose results truly required correction, as they were forced to wait for revised marksheets.

The new criteria have brought greater balance to the system while safeguarding the interests of students.”

According to WBCHSE statistics, the evaluation process is nearly complete, with over 98 per cent of the applications already reviewed. Head examiners have been instructed to expedite the remaining cases to ensure a timely release.