From 2008, higher secondary examinees will get 15 minutes more to go through the question papers. West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) feels this will help to ease pressure on candidates and assist them in managing time better.
WBCHSE secretary Debashish Sarkar said the 15 minute grace will also be granted to Class XI students, appearing for their finals. This will be allowed only for theory papers in Classes XI and XII. "Candidates, appearing for both old and new syllabi, will get the extra time. It will reduce the burden and improve time management," he added.
English papers will have 30% objective questions (out of 70 marks). While questions worth 19 marks will be objective, 51 will be subjective and the rest unseen. Moreover, candidates will now have to give single word answers to many objective questions.
All the practicals will be completed by January 19, 2008, which means that these will be held immediately after the test so that students get time to prepare for competitive exams after HS.
Source:The Times Of India,12-09-07