Kolkata

The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) is planning to introduce career counselling for students immediately after the Madhyamik Examination, as they prepare to enter Class 11, its newly appointed president Partha Karmakar said.

Karmakar said students often remain uncertain about their academic choices after the Madhyamik results are declared and tend to select streams based on suggestions from family members or friends rather than their own interests.

“Many students find it difficult to decide what to study after Madhyamik. The idea is to guide them through career counselling so that they can understand which subjects they may pursue and what prospects those subjects hold in the future,” he said.

According to him, the council currently conducts two counselling initiatives — one after the Madhyamik examination, primarily aimed at encouraging students to take up science, and another after the Higher Secondary Examination, mainly for students preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination.

However, the council now plans to expand counselling beyond science streams to include humanities and other subjects.

“This counselling will not be limited to science. Students will be informed about the future prospects of studying any subject. Similar counselling will also continue after the higher secondary level, as many students remain unsure about which path to choose for their future,” Karmakar said.

He added that the council is considering implementing the expanded counselling programme from this year itself.

Meanwhile, the WBCHSE has introduced a semester system in place of the annual higher secondary examination this year. The first year of implementation has seen several complaints from students, including delays in the availability of textbooks before the third and fourth semesters.

Karmakar said the council would closely monitor such issues going forward.

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“We will carry forward the work done during the tenure of the previous president, Chiranjib Bhattacharya, but ensure that the problems faced earlier do not recur. Our first priority will be to ensure that students receive their textbooks on time,” he said.