Multiple question paper sets to be introduced

Kolkata: The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) has announced that multiple sets of question papers will be introduced for the third-semester examination of Class XII students in the 2025-26 academic session. These students will be the first to take the Higher Secondary (HS) exams under the new semester system.

To prevent organised cheating, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) introduced a new measure this year by changing the sequence of questions across four regions. For example, a question that appeared first in Kolkata might have been placed fourth in Burdwan.

Regarding whether similar precautions would be implemented in the upcoming Higher Secondary (HS) examination, scheduled from March 3 to March 18, WBCHSE president Chiranjib Bhattacharya clarified that no such measures would be in place for this year’s exams. These are the final HS exams in the annual system. However, he confirmed that multiple sets of question papers would be introduced in the first HS exam under the new semester system. Bhattacharya explained that the third-semester exam, set for September, will feature multiple sets of question papers.

“This is being introduced to prepare students for future competitive exams and to familiarise them with the format,” he said. Students will be required to answer using OMR sheets. The examination will consist entirely of Multiple Choice Questions and will include 50 per cent straightforward questions, 30 per cent moderately complex ones, and 20 per cent challenging questions designed to test logical and analytical abilities.