For over 7 lakh students, hailing mostly from the rural areas, it was a tough task trying to figure out the meaning of words like ‘shroud’ and ‘shack’.

Several teachers said students from rural Bengal, who take up English as a second language in Class VI, are not familiar with these words as they have not come across them in the syllabus.

Even students from urban schools faced problems.

One of the questions involved writing a letter as a secretary of the school club inviting a renowned singer to perform at a programme.

But the students, who were used to writing “notices” as club secretaries, became confused as to whether a personal or official letter was called for.

“A meritorious student from Shri Sikhayatan School had called me up after the examination and said he was thoroughly confused,” said Biswajit Poddar, an English teacher at Ahranpur Sahara Boys High School in New Barrackpore and assistant general secretary of Secondary Teachers and Employees Association (STEA).

Some students also complained that there were no questions from the poetry section — a digression from the earlier trend.

President of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education Mamata Ray denied all complaints. “If the teachers have any problems regarding the questions, they can inform the board in writing,” she said.

The board also brushed aside reports that a school at Hooghly’s Alinagar, Yaasin Mandal Sikhsa Nikatan, conducted the examination outdoors under a tent.

A large number of examinees were reportedly allotted to the centre and the school could not find seats for them all in classrooms.

Of the 400 students from eight schools, 82 could not be accommodated.