West Bengal WBCHSE Class 11 Supplementary examination rules revised: What's changed ?

The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) has updated its guidelines for the procedure of Class 11 supplementary exam, bringing with it a significant change for students who are unable to pass Semester 2 papers.

Since the 2024–25 academic session, failing students in the Semester 2 examination have been given a new opportunity to appear for supplementary exams a month after the results are announced.

What was the old system?

Under the previous rules, supplementary exams were available only to those who had failed in any paper in Semester 1. They were held simultaneously with Semester 2 exams in the same year. There was no provision under the previous rules for those who had failed Semester 2—those who failed Semester 2 were asked to repeat the whole year.

What is new now?

Under the new Regulation 8, Semester 2 failing students will now be allowed to write supplementary exams within a month after the Semester 2 exams. This is a new provision for reducing students' academic loss and to help them clear backlogs without repeating the entire year in full.

The new rules will come into force from the 2024–25 academic session and retrospectively for the students who had appeared in the 2025 Semester 2 exams.

The new guidelines have been directed by WBCHSE for all Heads of Institutions (HOIs) to be implemented as a special case with effect from immediately.

But if a student fails in the supplementary exams (either Sem 1 or Sem 2), he/she will have to reappear for both semesters in the following academic session.

The regulation change introduces welcome flexibility to Class 11 students so that they can progress academically without being held up for the entire year due to Semester 2 failures if they clear the supplementary exams within the stipulated time.