Kolkata, October 31, 2025:
The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) announced the results for the third semester — the first part of the new Higher Secondary examination system — on Friday. This year saw a record 93.7% pass rate, the highest since 2011. However, the number of students scoring above 90% has dropped significantly, largely due to the introduction of MCQ-based exams on OMR sheets.
Topping the merit list were Pritam Ballav and Aditya Narayan Jana from Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia, who both scored an impressive 99%.
According to council data, 22.4% of students scored between 60–70%, 13.7% between 70–80%, 4.7% between 80–90%, and only 0.5% crossed the 90% mark. The distribution was notably low across all streams, with only 0.4% in science, 0.03% in commerce, and 0.1% in humanities achieving above 90%.
WBCHSE President Chiranjib Bhattacharjee explained that the new pattern aimed to familiarize students with competitive exam formats. “Our goal was to encourage analytical preparation. The papers included both tricky and moderate questions. While science students adapted well, other streams faced more challenges,” he said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a post on X, congratulated students and educators for implementing the semester system successfully — a first in India. “Those who didn’t perform well this time shouldn’t lose hope. Work harder for better results in the fourth semester,” she advised.
Among the top 10 rankers, 69 students made the list — 68 from science and just one from commerce. Ramakrishna Mission institutions dominated the rankings, with 24 students from Purulia and 31 from Narendrapur.
Swami Jnanarupananda, headmaster of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, said their emphasis on regular practice and competitive-style preparation helped students adjust to the new pattern.
This year, 6.6 lakh students registered, and 6.5 lakh appeared for the exams held between September 8 and 22. Results were released just 39 days after the exams concluded. Since this is only the first part of the semester-based system, physical marksheets will not be distributed; schools can instead download digital copies from the council’s website.
