Meritorious students loathe to lose out on the limelight —with the government deciding to abolish publication of Madhyamik and Higher Secondary merit lists from this year — need not fret. The authorities of the two state boards will continue the system of felicitating toppers, merit list or no merit list.

Tradition has it that rank-holders are felicitated at functions organised by the boards, with meritorious students (Top 10 or Top 20 on the list) being presented certificates of honour and prizes.

The move to discontinue the merit list was undertaken as it would be rendered obsolete the moment the government introduced the grade system, replacing the existing system of assessing students with marks. Instead, government officials said the system of honouring students collectively for their performance was “more scientific”.

The entire exercise, said sources in the government, was geared towards easing some of the pressure on students who are under severe strain to achieve the desired results.

“We will continue the system of honouring students who do well in the Higher Secondary exams. But it will not be for their aggregate score, that is, they will not get credit for coming in first, second or third. Instead, they will be honoured for performing brilliantly in individual subjects,” said Jyotirmoy Mukherjee, president, West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education.

For instance, according to Mukherjee, all students getting 95 per cent and above in mathematics may be picked as the best performers in the subject and felicitated. Similarly, a different percentage of marks may be earmarked for another subject — say 85 per cent in political science.

Mukherjee said the decision to scrap merit lists was taken by the government on the basis of recommendations from the Ranjugopal Mukherjee education committee.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education is also planning to honour students for their performances in its own way from this year.

According to board officials, they will not be able to follow the council’s plan to honour students subject-wise. This is because unlike in the Higher Secondary course, all Madhyamik examinees are required to study the same subjects.

“We are toying with many ideas on how to felicitate students who perform brilliantly in the exams,” admitted board secretary Swapan Bhattacharya.