The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), for the first time ever, prepared the examination calendar for the next year in its governing board meeting on Monday, a year before the matriculation and Intermediate results are declared.

According to the BSEB governing board, led by chairman Anand Kishor and comprising other members, the 2018 Intermediate examination will be held between February 7 and 19, while the matriculation examination will be held from February 21 to 28.

The governing board has also announced the form-filling dates of both. For matriculation, students can fill their online forms from December 29 to January 8, while for Intermediate, the dates are from October 3 to 20.

BSEB chairman Anand Kishor said: "The board for the first time has announced the examination calendar so that students can get an idea about their examination dates and even the date when they can fill the form."

Sources said earlier, the examination dates of matriculation and Intermediate dates were announced a month before the examination.

Even dates for filling up matriculation and Intermediate examinations were announced a month ago.

Sources said in 2017, the board introduced online process of registration and form-filling, confusing students. So they either committed mistake in filling up forms or were late in applying. But this time the board, to tide over the crisis, has decided to announce examination dates much before.

The examination calendar BSEB announced also includes the dates and the examination schedule. The board also announced the examination schedule of Simultala Residential School in Jamui. The entrance test for the residential school, which is a dream project of chief minister Nitish Kumar, has always remained pending.

The Simultala Residential School was gifted to the people of Bihar in August 2010. It is on the pattern of Netarhat Residential School, which went to Jharkhand after the bifurcation of Bihar in 2000. But there was no admission of students in 2013 and 2016 with both the sessions being declared zero sessions. This year, the entrance test will be held on April 9 though the academic session of Simultala Residential School is all set to get delayed again.

From 2018, the board plans to regularise the academic session. The preliminary test for the 2018-19 academic session of Simultala Residential School will be held on December 24, while the main test will be held on February 4.

Anand Kishor said: "Our effort is to make the board one the best examination boards in the country. We are working hard towards that direction." The governing board also passed the 2017-18 financial year budget on the occasion.