Higher Secondary: 3rd sem exams from September 8
Kolkata: The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) has announced the schedule for the third and fourth semesters of the Higher Secondary (HS) examinations 2026. The routines were released following the declaration of this year’s HS examination results on Wednesday.
The third-semester examinations of HS (first semester of Class XII) will be held from September 8 to 22, 2025, spanning 12 days: September 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 22. The first batch of HS students under the new semester system will write their papers from 10 am to 11:15 am, with each paper lasting 1 hour and 15 minutes. However, for visual arts, music and all vocational subjects, the duration will be 45 minutes, from 10 am to 10:45 am. This semester will follow a multiple-choice question (MCQ) format, to be answered on OMR sheets.
The fourth semester, considered the final semester of Class XII, is scheduled from February 12 to 27, 2026. These examinations will feature short-answer and descriptive questions. Most papers will be conducted between 10 am and 12 noon, while exams for visual arts, music and vocational subjects will end at 11:15 am. Exam dates include February 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27. Students who fail in the third semester will be permitted to take supplementary exams alongside the fourth semester, from February 12 to 27. These supplementary exams will be held from 1 pm to 2:15 pm, while exams for vocational subjects, music, and visual arts will run from 1 pm to 1:45 pm.
Importantly, candidates who did not qualify in the 2025 Higher Secondary exams — the last batch under the annual system — can choose to migrate to the semester-based system. They will be allowed to appear for both Semesters III and IV of HS examinations 2026, without having to repeat Class XI. Alternatively, they may choose to remain under the annual system. For such candidates, the annual examination will also be held from February 12 to 27, 2026, over 11 days.
