Kolkata, 19 September (H.S.) : The third-semester examinations conducted by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) are set to commence on September 21.

According to official information provided by the education council, a total of 722,547 students will participate in the third-semester exams this year. To ensure the smooth administration of the process, the council has established 2,105 venues and 826 examination centers across the state.

The council has also issued stringent guidelines regarding the leave of teaching and non-teaching staff during the examination period. Under the new regulations, employees must obtain prior permission from the council's respective regional office before availing of any form of leave.

The directives explicitly state that if a husband and wife are both employed in government or semi-government service, only one of them will be permitted to take leave during the examination days. A mandatory declaration form must be submitted along with the leave application to facilitate this. Furthermore, to maintain absolute transparency, if an employee's child is appearing for the exam at the school where they are posted, that staff member will be kept completely isolated from the process and relieved of all examination-related responsibilities.

Notably, the examination schedule was revised to accommodate the upcoming Assembly by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar, which are scheduled for October 6, with results slated for October 9. As the original routine included exams on the polling day, the council issued a notification on September 10 postponing the tests for three days. Additional adjustments were subsequently made due to the Karam Puja festival. As a result, the examinations that were initially scheduled to conclude on October 7 will now finish on October 14, coinciding with the Chaturthi of Durga Puja.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh