No controversial questions: WBBSE directs schools

Kolkata: The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has instructed all recognised secondary schools to refrain from setting any “controversial or embarrassing” questions in the upcoming Class X Selection Test examination. In a notification issued on Friday, the Board directed that all questions must strictly adhere to the prescribed Class X curriculum and syllabus and that none should be framed in a way that could “tarnish the image of the Board or the state of West Bengal”.

Schools have been asked to prepare question papers exclusively through their subject teachers, without seeking external assistance or collaborating with other institutions. “No collective or combined test is to be held by schools as a cluster, with or without the help of external agencies,” the notification stated. Each school must also submit both scanned and editable (non-PDF) soft copies of question papers for every subject via email on the same day the examination is conducted.

The Madhyamik Pariksha (Secondary Examination) 2026 is scheduled to begin on February 2, 2026, with the Selection Test to be held between November 3 and 13 this year. The Board clarified that responsibility for the content and quality of the questions rests entirely with individual schools and that submission of question papers does not imply their selection for publication.

Reacting to the directive, Kinkar Adhikari, general secretary of Shikshanuragi Aikya Mancha, said: “Many schools lack subject teachers, which makes it very difficult to prepare question papers. Yet, the entire responsibility is being placed on teachers.”