The timing for West Bengal board examinations has been shifted earlier by 2 hours, with the exams now commencing at 9:45 am instead of the usual 11:45 am.
The West Bengal board examinations for Classes 10 and 12, scheduled for February, will see a change in timing. Officials have confirmed that the examination timings for both classes have been moved ahead by two hours, with the exams now starting at 9:45 am instead of the usual 11:45 am, as reported by PTI.
Ramanuj Ganguly, President of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, announced the revision during a press conference. The updated examination schedule will be from 9:45 am to 1 pm, deviating from the previous timing of 11:45 am to 3 pm for Class 10 exams. Similarly, Class 12 board exams will now take place between 9:45 am and 1 pm, as confirmed by West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education President Chiranjib Bhattacharyya.
The West Bengal Madhyamik (Class 10) board exams are set to occur from February 2 to 12, 2024, while the West Bengal HS (Class 12) board examination is scheduled from February 16 to 29, 2024.
Although the reason for the timing adjustment was not specified by the board, an official from the education department mentioned that the changes were implemented following discussions between the state secretariat Nabanna and the respective boards. The official justified the decision, stating, “If students can attend classes from 10:30 am in the day, there has to be parity between exam time and school time,” as reported by PTI.
However, the teacher’s organization expressed discontent with the new examination timings. Nabakumar Karmakar, spokesperson of Paschim Banga Shikshak Samiti, a teachers’ body of the state, argued, “This decision has no logic. In rural areas, many students come to exam centers from far away places. It will put them in lots of difficulties. Earlier, they changed the dates of the Madhyamik exams from the usual March to February arbitrarily,” as reported by PTI.
Karmakar did acknowledge the potential justification for holding HS exams early, citing the simultaneous conduct of two papers on the same subject in a single day. The upcoming examinations will involve 9.23 lakh candidates for the Madhyamik exams and eight lakh higher secondary candidates.
