The state government has pruned the syllabuses for the students of Classes X and XII who will write their board exams next year as on-campus classes could not be held because of the Covid pandemic.

Education minister Partha Chatterjee said the syllabuses would be slashed by 30 to 35 per cent, something that was recommended by an expert committee on school education.

“It is true that we have not been able to conduct regular classes because of the Covid situation…. We have decided to accept the proposal of the expert committee on reducing the syllabuses by 30 to 35 per cent for the students of Classes X and XII, who will take their board exams next year,” said Chatterjee.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and the West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education will post the revised syllabuses on their websites. “They (the board and the council) will announce the details through notifications,” Chatteree said.

An official of the school education department said the modes of instruction tried out during the pandemic — through portals designed by the government, over the phone and on TV— were not adequate to complete the syllabuses.

The state has around 14,000 secondary schools and close to 7,000 higher secondary schools.

“A large number of students at these schools don’t have access to laptops or smartphones. Many of them stay in places that lack robust connectivity. So, it was not possible to hold classes on digital platforms. Hence, reduction of the syllabuses was inevitable,” he said.

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has twice curtailed the syllabuses for the students of Classes X and XII who will take their board exams next year, after taking into account the findings of a survey on online teaching.

Union human resource development minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had announced in July that the CBSE would reduce the syllabuses of Classes IX to XII by up to 30 per cent for the 2020-21 session.

Sougata Basu, a teacher of Uttarpara Government School and the secretary of the Government School Teachers’ Association, wondered why it took the government so long to decide that the syllabuses needed to be curtailed.

“The department should have acted sooner. The students would have got more time to prepare for the board exams had the announcements come earlier,” Basu said.

The government is yet to announce next year’s Madhyamik and HS schedule.