This year, the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) has introduced five new subjects in the Higher Secondary (HS) curriculum: artificial intelligence and data science, environmental science, fisheries and aquaculture, business mathematics, and basic statistics as well as mathematics for the social sciences.

According to the council, environmental science would be available for science students. Previously, the subject of environmental studies was open to all streams, but this has now become an option for arts and commerce students. WBCHSE president Chiranjib Bhattacharya told The Indian Express, “The environment nowadays is always a concern for any project or any government, so science students will have a bit of science in (the subject’s syllabus).”

Fisheries and Aquaculture is a new lab-based subject that will be offered to arts and science students. Bhattacharya said, “In West Bengal, fisheries are very strong… There are a lot of prospects.”

“The courses that we are introducing are being done keeping in mind the career prospects of students, that is our main objective. We have always prioritised job-oriented training — not just basic courses in arts, science, and commerce — and bringing in courses which are in demand and also have prospects in higher education,” he said.

The Council has also introduced different mathematics courses for different streams. The standard Mathematics syllabus will now be only for science students. Commerce students will study Business Mathematics and Basic Statistics, while humanities students will have Basic Mathematics for Social Sciences.

Also, the WBCHSE has combined Artificial Intelligence and Data Science — which were introduced in 2023-24 as two subjects — into a single subject for science students. “Artificial intelligence is coming up in every domain and every aspect of life,” said Bhattacharya.