Higher Secondary Semester IV exams to scrap extra sheets

Kolkata: The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) will withdraw the practice of supplying loose sheets in the Higher Secondary (HS) fourth-semester examinations, introducing a single bound answer script of 24 pages that students must complete their papers within.

Until now, under the annual system, candidates received an eight-leaf booklet of 16 pages and collected additional sheets from the invigilator when required. With the shift to the semester system—the first batch appearing for HS in the 2025–2026 academic session—the council has introduced a fixed 12-leaf (24-page) script for Semester IV, which includes short-answer and descriptive questions. WBCHSE president Chiranjib Bhattacharya said the new script offers more writing space than was available earlier. In the annual system, non-lab subjects carried 80 marks and lab-based subjects 75 marks. Under the semester model, the written component has been halved to 40 and 35 marks respectively. “Marks have been halved, yet pages have increased. We are giving 12 leaves, or 24 pages.

That is more than enough to complete the papers,” he said. The council maintains that candidates will not require more pages.

Bhattacharya said the decision was prompted by long-standing disputes involving loose sheets. “Loose sheets caused repeated problems. Sometimes an invigilator counter-signed three sheets, but only two were found inside. In those cases the main booklet was counted as a loose sheet, creating confusion and complication. Most reported-against (RA) cases—around 70 to 80 percent—were about loose-sheet mismatch,” he said. The aim, he added, is to remove uncertainty: “Loose sheets can get lost or tear off. We want to avoid that chance.” The council has stated that extra sheets will not be issued “under normal circumstances”, though centres will keep some in reserve for exceptional situations. Schools will be instructed to brief students ahead of the examination.

Students still appearing under the earlier annual system will continue to receive the old-format scripts with loose sheets. Their examinations will run in February alongside the Semester IV tests, scheduled from February 12 to February 27.