It was the ICSE board that showed the way some years back when it bifurcated the secondary and the higher secondary syllabi. The CBSE board was quick to follow in its footsteps. The West Bengal school board was as usual circumspect even as the students continued to wilt under the burden of a huge syllabus. But finally, the weight is about to be lifted from the young shoulders of West Bengal board secondary and higher secondary students.

The announcement that the Class IX and Class XI portions are going to be chopped off the board exam syllabi has come as a big relief to students. The authorities see this as part of a process of integration with the exam system and syllabus pattern prevailing in the rest of the country. For students, it is an opportunity to try and devote more time to competitive exams.

Under the new system that comes into effect from 2007, Class IX and Class XI final exams are going to be conducted by the schools. But the question papers are to be set by the board. The respective schools will correct the papers. School authorities have welcomed the move, which, they believe, will remove the stress and help students to perform better.

“Everyone is eager to do well in the board exams. Now that the syllabus is being halved, they will be able to concentrate more on the important topics and won’t have to rely on selective study that often lands them in trouble. Unfortunately, the state board has been rather slow in taking this step,” says T.H. Ireland, principal of St James’ School, Calcutta.

The authorities have indeed been slow about the whole issue. The central human resource development ministry had suggested the move five years ago. While the other boards accepted it, the West Bengal education authorities chose to ignore the bifurcation issue. This has affected the performance of local students in competitive exams, say experts.

“The syllabus, in any case, is getting bigger every year. If you don’t reduce the pressure on Plus Two students under the state board, I think it will get increasingly difficult for them to compete in all-India exams. It makes sense to halve the syllabus as students will now have the time to read the text more carefully,” says Bidyut Bhattacharya, member-secretary, of the state Joint Entrance Board that conducts admissions to the medical and engineering courses in West Bengal.

Krishna Damani, spokesperson for South Point High School, affiliated to the West Bengal board, agrees. The burden, he says, had become too much for students to bear. “The board exams have become a memory test. A smaller syllabus will let students study rather than just memorise. Also, the bifurcation will help the local board to be on a par with the ICSE and CBSE boards. We must follow the national system,” he says.

Again, as Arjo Mitra, rector of Calcutta’s Nava Nalanda School, also affiliated to the state board, points out, “In any case, we have final exams for classes IX and XI. So does it make sense to include the same portions for the board exams?” It doesn’t, believes the majority. But some do have a counter argument.

The board exam syllabus for both secondary and higher secondary levels being huge, schools might struggle to finish the course in time. Most schools start teaching the Class X lessons in Class IX. The reason: they barely get six months in Class X before the sequence of pre-tests and selection tests begin, leading to the board exam. Under the new system, this balance could be disturbed.

“We have this system already and it’s a mad rush,” explains Mukta Nain, principal of Birla High School, which is affiliated to CBSE. “Teachers find it difficult to meet the deadlines, students find it hard to keep up with the pace of teaching. The session has to be changed and we must have more time for classes X and XII. Otherwise, this hardly makes any sense.”

Others like Mitra agree that this issue needs to be looked into. The school session, according to him, has to be “rearranged” to make the new system work.

Which is why West Bengal’s education authorities are toying with the idea of starting the session for Class XI a month earlier. About Class X, it still has no clue. “We are looking into all the possibilities. Nothing is finalised as yet,” says West Bengal state secondary education minister Kanti Biswas.

But with 2007 having been taken as the starting point, time is running out. “The schools should be given the liberty to do what they feel is best,” says Mitra. Now it is up to the boards to work out a time-table that will allow enough classes to be squeezed in. With the syllabus being halved, students shouldn’t complain about that.

Pros

Why the new system will work

The burden of syllabus being halved, students can devote more time to preparing for all-India competitive exams.

The system becomes uniform with that of the two major all-India boards ? ICSE and CBSE.

cons

Why it may not

Finishing the syllabi for classes X and XII could be difficult in such a short period.

Stretching the term or the number of classes is impossible without altering the session.