– Mita Mukherjee

Nearly 12 lakh examinees will appear in the 2021 West Bengal Madhaymik Examinations (Class X), around two lakh more than last year, Kalyanmoy Ganguly, president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education said on Saturday.

The rise in number of two lakh candidates is mainly because all students who were studying in class X in schools affiliated with the state secondary board last year have been allowed to appear in the 2021 Madhyamik examinations without any screening, Ganguly said. The selection tests were not held in any school this time because of the pandemic.    

“We are yet to calculate the exact number of examinees in the 2021 Madhyamik examinations. But, close to 12 lakh examinees are expected to appear in the examinations this year. Last year nearly 10 lakh students had written the test. The number of candidates has increased by around two lakh because no selection tests were held in any school this time and all students have been allowed to appear in the board examinations,” Ganguly told EducationWorld.

The 2021 Madhyamik examinations will start on June 1 and continue till June 10. In normal situation the Madhyamik is usually conducted in February end.

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced on November 11 last year that the internal selection tests that are conducted by the individual Madhyamik schools for screening the students before allowing them to appear in the class X board examinations would not be held to avoid gathering on campuses as a precaution against Covid-19.  

The Madhyamik selection tests are usually held between November end and beginning of December.

All schools had remained closed since March 2020 and the government decision not to conduct the selection tests has led students appearing in the first board exam of their life without any rehearsal.

However, many schools are arranging mock tests to enable the class X students to get an idea of the board examinations after the state government allowed the schools in Bengal to partially reopen for in-person classes for students studying between Classes IX and XII from February 12. The mock tests are also helping students to prepare for the board exam in a better manner.

Through the mock tests, the teachers too are getting to know the weaknesses of the students and accordingly they are providing students necessary coaching for their improvement.   

 “ We have followed the government instruction and allowed all our class X students to appear in the Madhyamik examinations. But when we got the permission from the government to reopen the school for classes IX to XII we decided to arrange the mock tests. We have already held the first round of the test and panning to conduct another round soon. Since the students had not attended the school, the mock tests will help them to a great extent,” said Parimal Bhattacharya, headmaster of Jadavpur Vidyapith, state-aided school in south Kolkata.

Also read: 12 lakh students to appear in West Bengal class X board exam in 2021