Partha Chatterjee said efforts were on to publish the Class 12 examination results by July 31. (File)

The West Bengal government on Friday announced the cancellation of the pending Class 12 state board examinations. This came a day after the CBSE and the CISCE boards decided not to conduct the pending exams of classes 10 and 12 scheduled from July 1.

“As per Supreme Court order and according to the recommendations made by our expert committee and West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE), the state education department has cancelled the Class 12 board exams scheduled on July 2, 6 and 8. No examination will be held on those days. The WBCHSE is preparing norms regarding the evaluation process,” state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters.

The minister said efforts were on to publish the Class 12 examination results by July 31. “If any student does not agree with the norms published by the higher education council on the evaluating process then they will be allowed to take exams on these papers once the situation becomes normal. Even that process is being finalised by the education department,” said Chatterjee.

The minister’s announcement came minutes after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the decision regarding the pending examinations would be taken after consultation with the higher education council. Meanwhile, Banerjee urged private schools in the state not to increase fees.

Banerjee said, “This is not the right time to increase school fees. I request private school authorities with folded hands not to do this. At the same time some people are indulging in politics on this, and saying they will not pay school fees at all. This is also not right. School authorities have to pay salaries to the teachers, hence paying school fees is necessary. But there should not be any increase in such fees.”
Banerjee also asked the schools not to charge students for extracurricular activities.