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Record 12 per cent rise in HS examinees
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editor on 06 March, 2008 09:25:00
 
There has been a record rise in the number of students appearing for the West
Bengal Higher Secondary Examination (WBHSE), this year. According to the West
Bengal Higher Secondary Education Council (WBHSEC), it has recorded almost 12
per cent rise. The rise was 4 to 5 per cent last year.
This year, 4,27,094 students will appear. Last year, the total number was
4,01950. This year, 22,851 candidates will appear for the old syllabus and there
will be 129 visually impaired and handicapped candidates.
"This record rise is the result of a split syllabus. Other factors are that
there are no candidates for vocational courses and many dropout students have
opted for open school examinations," secretary of the council Debashish Datta
said.
"This year, time has also been increased by 15 minutes for reading question
papers. The first half will be from 10 am to 1.15 pm, while the second half will
be from 2 pm to 5.15 pm. The question papers and answer scripts will be
distributed at the same time, but it is up to the students whether they will
utilise the extra time in perusing the question paper," Mr Dutta said. There
will be 350 examination centres in the state and 1,151 examination venues.
Also 4,19,135 candidates will appear for their Class 11 exams under the
council. It has been noted that both the exams will coincide. The council
strongly feels that there would be no security problems or confusion though the
time gap between the two halves is 45 minutes. The council refused to disclose
the number of examiners appointed this year for checking answer scripts.