Higher secondary council withdraws cap on Class XI seats at all state-run schools

The increase in the number of seats was made as an exception considering the 100 percent success rate in Madhyamik

With a 100 per cent success rate, the number of Class XI aspirants would be around 13.66 per cent more than the previous year.: Shutterstock

Subhasish Chaudhuri   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |   30.07.21: The West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education on Thursday withdrew the existing cap on the number of seats in Class XI at all state-run and state-aided schools for this year.

With this, a school can admit up to 400 students in each of the three streams — science, commerce and arts — in 2021. Normally, the maximum limit per stream is 275 students. The increase in Class XI seats was made as an exception considering the 100 percent success rate in Madhyamik.

Thursday’s order, signed by council secretary-in-charge Tapas Mukhopadhyay with the approval of its president Mahua Das, came as a relief for not only heads of schools but students and parents.

Education department sources said Nabanna had ordered officials to ensure admission for all students who passed Madhyamik this year. The admission process starts in August.

A senior official of the council said: "Many schools approached us requesting a waiver on the existing cap and an increase in the maximum quota of admission. We considered the aspect realistically and sought a decision from the state government which accorded its nod,” the official said.

With a 100 percent success rate, the number of Class XI aspirants would be around 13.66 percent more than the previous year.

“We appealed to the council to waive the restriction and increase the maximum admissibility of students to 400. We also demanded appointment of new teachers as many schools would face problems in handling such a huge number of students,” said Chandan Maiti, state general secretary of Advanced Society for Headmasters and Headmistresses. “We are happy that the council considered the issue sincerely,” added Maiti, who is the headmaster of Mathurapur Krishnachandrapur High School in South 24-Parganas.

“Every year the number of qualifying students increases. An increase of barely 1 percent puts schools like ours in a fix owing to constraints in infrastructure coupled with lack of teachers. The council should try to understand this,” Santanu Mandal, added headmaster of a high school in Nadia's Haringhata.