Record 93.72% clear HS Sem III exams; CM congratulates

Kolkata: The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) on Friday announced the results of the Higher Secondary (HS) Semester III (Part I) examinations for 2026, registering a record 93.72 per cent pass rate — the highest since 2011. Students of Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) institutions dominated the merit list, securing most of the top ten ranks among 69 position-holders.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a post on X, congratulated students, teachers, and parents, calling the semester-based examination “a first in the country.” She urged those who underperformed “not to lose heart”.

Out of 6,60,260 enrolled candidates, 6,45,832 appeared for the exams held from September 8 to 22. Council president Chiranjib Bhattacharya said the success rate marked a sharp rise from 90.79 per cent in 2025, the last examination under the annual system, calling it the best performance in nearly 15 years.

Male students achieved a pass rate of 93.81 per cent, while females recorded 93.65 per cent. South 24-Parganas topped the district chart with 96.72 per cent, followed by Nadia (96.64%) and Howrah (96.59%). Science students swept the merit list — 68 of 69 were from science, one from commerce, and none from humanities. 66 rankers were boys, and three were girls. RKM Vidyapith, Purulia (24 students), and RKM Vidyalaya, Narendrapur, South 24 Parganas (31 students), together accounted for 55 of the 69 position-holders.

Pritam Ballav and Aditya Narayan Jana, both from RKM Purulia, jointly topped with 98.97 per cent, sharing the same subject combination — Economics, Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science.

The second rank went to ten students — nine from the two RKM schools and one each from Suri Public and Chandragati Mustafi Memorial School, Birbhum — all scoring 98.95%. Soham Bhowmick of RKM Narendrapur ranked third with 98.92 per cent.Dipanwita Pal of Daulatpur High School, South Dinajpur, was the top-ranked girl, sharing the fourth position with nine others at 98.42%.

The only commerce candidate, Gholam Faisal of Calcutta Madrasah A.P. Department, secured the eighth rank with 97.50 per cent. Bhattacharya said uploading 38 lakh OMR sheets was “technically unfeasible.” The sheets will be available on demand through RTI, with no review or scrutiny, as the evaluation was fully computerised. Digital copies will be preserved and hard copies retained for six months. Results were based on two compulsory language papers and three electives, excluding the optional subject. The final HS results, after Semester IV (February 12–27, 2026), will combine both semesters with practical or project marks. Final scores will be computed on the best five of six subjects, allowing the optional paper’s higher score to replace the lowest elective.

For Semester III, students received digital Statements of Marks. Schools downloaded official copies with the Deputy Secretary’s signature and QR code, to be stamped and signed by the head of the institution.