Mita Mukherjee
The West Bengal state higher secondary council is planning to introduce a new system in Classes XI and XII which will make it mandatory for schools to complete teaching of every topic in all subjects within the time to be recommended by the council.
The council is set to prepare detailed guidelines for teachers where it will specify subject-wise total number of teaching learning hours to be held in a semester in each subject and also the number of hours to be allotted in each topic in every subject.
For example, if the council recommends 40 hours of total number of teaching learning hours in chemistry in a particular semester, it will also mention the number of hours to be devoted for teaching organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry, Chiranjib Bhattacharya, president, West Bengal Council of Secondary Secondary Education said.
According to Bhattacharya, the council is likely to introduce semester system in Classes XI and XII from 2024-25 academic sessions as suggested in the centre’s New Education Policy (NEP) as well as in the education policy of the state government.
” The entire curriculum for Class XI and XII will undergo several changes under the proposed semester system. The four-semester module is completely new. We want to ensure that the time for teaching each subject is divided judiciously so that students get enough time to learn each and every topic properly and get sufficient time for revision,” Bhattacharya told EducationWorld.
The council has started the process of reviewing the present syllabus which is now taught under the annual examination system. A detailed report has been sent to the state government on how it wants to implement the new four -semester system in which board exams will be held twice in Class XII.
Bhattacharya, who had been emphasizing on semester system of education at the higher secondary level since 2021, however, said: “Preparations are going on full swing to launch the new system. But we will be in a position to implement the process only after getting the state government’s approval. We cannot implement any new policy on the basis of unilateral decision, ” Bhattacharya said.
A senior official of school education department confirmed about the council’s plans and admitted that a report on introduction of the new system has been received by it.
The department is examining the report and it will be finally sent it to chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her approval, the official said.
