With the intention of reducing the burden on school students the West Bengal government is considering a proposal to make examinations till Class 8 optional. Talking to reporters, Bengal’s School Education Minister Bratya Basu said that “Children are gradually becoming afraid of exams. In order to free them from this trauma, we are thinking of making exams till Class 8 as optional”. The idea is not so much to abolish the examination system but to make taking exams optional.

The minister also discussed other issues such as the importance of knowing to speak  English. He said, “we are thinking of introducing a 50-mark test in spoken English from Class 1.”  This will be done across the state.

He also spoke of how teachers spending long hours traveling to and from the school can affect their performance. Basu proposed introduction of a “mutual transfer system”. He said, “I have talked to the (education) secretary and will also talk to the chief minister on how we can save the teachers from spending time on traveling. If the teachers are posted near to where they live, it would save them time which they can dedicate to the students.”
Basu added that all the proposals were at a conceptual stage and talks were on with the people concerned to find ways and means for their implementation.