Exam stress does not reduce with age. In fact, middle-aged candidates who are writing the SSLC exam appear to be more stressed out than the freshers.
Many of them took the exam at the Old Fort High School in the city and heaved a sigh of relief after they completed the first language paper on Wednesday. While majority of them said they are taking the exam to help them get a promotion or an increment, some were doing it just to tell their family and friends that they were an “SSLC pass”.
Forty-seven-year-old R. Gajendra decided to appear for the exam to get a promotion. The exam halls are familiar to him as he is a Group D employee in Bangalore University’s exam section. After his exam on Wednesday he said, “I have been involved in conducting several exams in the university. But, being on the other side of the exam hall felt a bit weird.”
At Mr. Gajendra’s home his older daughter is appearing for the II Pre-University exam, and his younger daughter and he are writing the SSLC exam. “We burn the midnight oil together,” he said. There has been a role-reversal in his case. “As I had to go for work, my younger daughter made notes for me and gave me her preparatory papers, and that helped,” he said. Roopa Bai (31), a homemaker, decided to write the exam as her brother constantly made fun of her. “I dropped out of class nine when I got married. Now, the lessons in the textbook go over my head. But once I set my mind to something, I am determined to finish it,” she said.
Shashi Kumar S. (35), a government employee, said this is the second time he is writing the exam “If I clear the exam, I will get a promotion and my salary will increase marginally,” he said.
