The state higher secondary council has come up with a helpline in the form of an email address where students can send any query related to the examinations due in June.

The examinees can send their queries to hs2021@gmail.com.

Usually, the council comes up with helplines every year in the form of phone numbers a day before the start of the theory papers so examinees can alert the council about any emergency. ’The launch of a helpline three months before the start of the exams is something new,’’ said a council member.

What prompted the council to launch such a helpline?

Another official of the council said a major change had taken place this year with the state government pruning the syllabuses for the students of Classes X and XII, who will write their board exams in June, as in-person classes could not be held because of the Covid pandemic.

A student might have several queries as to how he or she should prepare based on the revised syllabus, he said.

“It has to be kept in mind that even as the reduction was announced last November, in-person classes (for Classes IX to XII) only began on February 12. Most of the time students have been in touch with teachers on digital platforms and this may not be adequate. So we are trying to be available to them as much as possible to address their queries,” the council member said.

The headmaster of a school in south Calcutta said the attendance of students of Class XII on the campus had drastically gone down since Covid cases started increasing over the past few days.

“So our plan to clear their queries on how they could prepare factoring in the reduction in syllabus by holding classes extensively from February 12 has failed. It is good that the council has decided to address their queries in the run-up to the exams,’’ he said.

Another head of the institution said the examinees could have queries on what could be the health protocols during the exams. ’’Examinees can ask such questions amid the pandemic,” he said.

On February 12, the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education had come out with topic-wise division of marks in each subject.

“We are expecting queries about topic-wise distribution of marks as well,’’ said a council official. We have formed a panel of experts to answer the queries.”

The council’s notice says examinees while asking questions must mention their registration numbers, roll numbers and other relevant details.

Calls and a text message to council president Mahua Das did not elicit any response.