Candidates who failed the Class 12 West Bengal Board examination on Monday took to the streets of Siliguri in the northern division of the state, demanding that they be passed with their marks. Some protesters shouted slogans and blocked roads in Phulbari and Champasari areas for about an hour, disrupting the movement of visitors to the site, a police official said, adding that the blockade was lifted once police officers were used, he said.
Among the protestors were students of Phulbari High School, Sri Guru Vidyamandir, Deshbandhu Hindi High School, Terai Tarapad Adarsh Vidyalaya and Hakimpara Girls High School. An agitating student of Phulbari High School said, “Offline classes should not be taken in larger sections of the last two years. Once upon a time the syllabus was hastily executed by the teachers. Shouldn’t the council be a little more generous? What will happen to our careers?”
In 2021, after days of protests via quite a few unsuccessful students over the standards adopted for evaluation, the West Bengal Higher Secondary Council had introduced that all candidates of the category 12 board examinations would be given minimal scores required for passing the exam. Talking to PTI, Bhattacharya said, “Unlike last year, assessments have been held this year. It is not viable to award qualifying score to all students. This year, 11.6 per cent candidates may want to no longer clear the exam, held at home centres throughout Bengal,” he said.
