West Bengal's Madhyamik (Class 10) and Higher Secondary (Class 12) examinations for 2027 will be deferred because a large number of schoolteachers are needed for Census enumeration work, School Education Minister Dipak Barman has said. The Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted the minister as saying the revised dates would be announced by next week, and The Telegraph reported that he confirmed the exams will be deferred.

Source: AglaSem News (PTI, The Telegraph)

"We will have to postpone the Madhyamik examination. Since the Higher Secondary examination follows Madhyamik, its schedule will also have to be revised," Barman said on Wednesday, adding that no final decision on the new dates had been taken yet. The Census exercise in the state is scheduled to continue until February 28, 2027, with the second, house-to-house phase of enumeration running from January 25 to February 28.

Source: MP report, Nov 5 (Kalimpong Online News)

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has proposed holding the Madhyamik examination from March 2 to March 16, 2027, in place of the earlier February 15 to 25 schedule, with papers running from 10:45 am to 2 pm. Board president Laltu Das had said when the proposal was sent to the School Education Department: "This is a proposal. Nothing has been finalised yet. As teachers who will conduct exams will have to be deployed for the enumeration exercise in February."

Source: Education Times (PTI)

Mar 2–16, 2027Proposed new Madhyamik window
Feb 15–25, 2027Earlier Madhyamik schedule
Jan 25–Feb 28, 2027Census phase 2 in Bengal

The Higher Secondary fourth-semester examination is also expected to move. PTI reported that the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) is expected to propose dates after March 16, and council sources have indicated the Class 12 papers could be pushed to after Dol Yatra. No revised routine had been published on the WBBSE website when reports were checked late on November 5, so students should treat the March dates as proposed, not final, until the boards issue their official routines.

The clash arises because the same government schoolteachers who staff examination halls and evaluation work are deployed as Census enumerators. The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India had earlier written to examination authorities asking them to avoid scheduling major examinations during the enumeration period.