WBCHSE mulls supplementary exams for class XI semester II

Kolkata: The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) is considering the introduction of supplementary examinations for Class XI Semester II, Council president Chiranjib Bhattacharya has confirmed.

Currently, the semester system permits supplementary exams only for students who fail in Semester I. These students can reappear in the failed subjects alongside the Semester II exams within the same academic year. However, there is no provision for supplementary exams for Semester II. Students who fail in any subject in Semester II or have any backlog subjects from Semester I are required to repeat both semesters afresh in the next academic session.

Under the present rules, Class XI students must secure a minimum of 30 percent marks in each compulsory language subject and in at least three elective subjects separately in both semesters to qualify. The same minimum applies to the practical or project components.

“We are thinking about supplementary exams for Semester II,” said Bhattacharya.

“Under the current structure, even if a student clears all subjects in both semesters but fails in English or Bengali, they are considered to have failed Class XI entirely. They must repeat the whole year, which results in the loss of a year. This is not student-centric,” said Bhattacharya.

He added that the current arrangement contradicts the intended flexibility, which is central to the semester system.

To address the issue, the Council is considering allowing schools to hold supplementary exams for Semester II within a month of the publication of results. These exams would be restricted to subjects in which the student has failed.

However, Bhattacharya clarified that the proposal is still under discussion. “No final decision has been taken yet. It is at the deliberation stage within the Council,” he said.

The move follows concerns over the performance of the first batch of Class XI students under the new semester system introduced in 2024–25. While many students performed exceptionally well in the OMR-based Semester I exams, which featured multiple-choice questions, a large number struggled with the short and descriptive answer format in Semester II.

According to Council estimates, around 7.65 lakh students were registered in Class XI this academic year. A considerable number failed to pass Semester II, prompting alarm across nearly 7,000 affiliated schools in the state.

Though supplementary exams for Semester II are not currently permitted, there were reports that some schools conducted informal retests to help students qualify.

The introduction of an official supplementary exam is expected to standardise the process and prevent such irregular practices.