Semester System Set to Launch in Primary Education Across Bengal
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Kolkata, Dec 27 (NationPress) The introduction of the semester system in the primary education framework is on the horizon for the state, commencing from the next academic year, as revealed by Goutam Paul, the President of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), on Friday.
This new semester system will bring about two evaluations within an academic year, a shift from the previous model which conducted assessments only once annually.
Paul informed reporters that the implementation of the semester system will incite a significant overhaul of the syllabus in primary education.
“The evaluation mechanism will be referred to as a credit-based semester system. This covers grades from first to fifth. The exams for 2025 will still follow the old syllabus, while the new syllabus will come into effect in 2026. The School Education Department has already sanctioned this revised system,” he stated.
Under the new structure, the first semester will span from January to June, and the second semester will run from July to December.
The first semester examination will account for 40 marks, while the second semester will be worth 60 marks. Previously, there was a single annual examination totaling 100 marks.
Notably, there will be no written exam in the first semester. Out of the 40 marks allocated for it, 20 marks will be determined by student attendance and conduct, with the remaining 20 marks based on subject-specific internal assessments.
The second semester will be entirely focused on written examinations, with the question papers being centrally crafted by the WBBPE, as opposed to the former system where individual schools prepared the questions.
Nevertheless, the evaluation of the answer sheets will still be conducted by the respective school teachers.
In the revised system, students in the first and second grades will experience a total of 376 hours of classes throughout the year. The highest attainable credit score for these grades is set at 13.5.
For students in the third, fourth, and fifth grades, there will be 460 hours of class time per year, with a maximum credit score capped at 16.5.
“Since this evaluation approach will commence at the primary education level, students will become familiar with the system that exists at the higher educational stages,” Paul concluded.
