New subjects added to HS curriculum

Kolkata: The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) has announced the introduction of several new subjects in the Higher Secondary (HS) curriculum from the 2025-26 academic year.

One of the main additions is Environmental Science, which will be available only to science students. Earlier, Environmental Studies was open to all streams, but now, with the introduction of Environmental Science, it will be limited to commerce and humanities students. Another new lab-based subject, Fisheries and Aquaculture, will be offered to arts and science students. WBCHSE president Chiranjib Bhattacharya said: “We are focusing on the scientific aspects of the environment as it is becoming more important. Courses on fisheries have a high demand and offer good career opportunities. We want to help students become more employable by keeping them informed about new trends.”

He added: “We are introducing these subjects to help students prepare for their careers and improve their

job prospects. The Council is selecting optional subjects that are contemporary and useful for careers.” The Council has also introduced different mathematics courses for different streams. The standard Mathematics syllabus will now be only for science students. Commerce students will study Business Mathematics and Basic Statistics, while humanities students will have Basic Mathematics for Social Sciences.

Additionally, the WBCHSE has combined Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, which were introduced in 2023-24, into a single subject, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, for science students.