The higher secondary examinations will be held as scheduled in June, the state council of HS education said in a notice to the heads of all institutions on Friday.

Unlike other years, the candidates will write their papers at their respective schools, the council has said.

The council has cancelled the annual examinations of Class XI and the heads of all institutions have been requested to promote all students to Class XII.

“...the Higher Secondary examination will be conducted as per schedule published earlier,” read a notice issued on Friday by the president of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, Mahua Das.

The examination is scheduled from June 15 till July 2.

“The Covid situation will be closely monitored and any further decision or change in this regard will be informed beforehand to all,” Das said in the notice.

“For Higher Secondary Examination 2021, the HS examinees will appear for the examination at their own Institution (Home Venue) and please note that, the examination timings will be 12 noon to 3.15pm in place of 10am to 1.15pm.”

Usually, higher secondary candidates of one school write their papers at a different school.

The Class XI annual examinations, for which the council sends question papers, are held in the second half on the days the HS exams are held. Since the Class XI exams have been cancelled, the timings for Class XII exams could be changed, the head of an institution said.

The council in the notice has said that the topics in the reduced syllabus of Class XI should be completed within the “first quarter of Class XII”.

“Since college admission is largely dependent on the Class XII marks, the board is trying to conduct the school-leaving exams,” the head of another school said.

The CBSE and ICSE council both have deferred their Class XII board exams, which were to be held in May, because of the pandemic. The new dates will be announced once the authorities review the situation in the first week of June.