The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) has announced that the results of the first semester-based Class 12 exams are likely to be released by October 31, Council President Chiranjib Bhattacharya confirmed.

The exams, held from September 8 to September 21, saw approximately 6.6 lakh students take part, with girls constituting 56.03% of candidates. Conducted for the first time in a semester-based format, the tests employed OMR sheets to streamline evaluation.

“Over 38 lakh OMR sheets are being scanned. While festival holidays in the coming month may cause minor delays, we are confident that results will be published by October 31,” Bhattacharya said.

Under the new system, semesters one and three focus on multiple-choice questions designed to encourage analytical thinking and reasoning, while semesters two and four retain traditional short answer (SAQ) and development quotient (DQ) questions to maintain students’ writing skills.

The next semester exams are scheduled for February, and the cumulative results from both semesters will determine students’ final grades and rankings. The annual exam system, in place since 1978, concluded its final iteration this March.