With the school examinations nearing, it is common to find students tense and stressful. A number of organisations are extending support to the student community and helping them overcome fear and improve their confidence level.
On Tuesday, CBSE opened its pre-exam counselling process, which would be active till April 13. A total of 49 school principals and trained counsellors from CBSE-affiliated government and private schools and psychologists would be part of the tele-counselling and address exam-related psychological problems of the students, says an official release on its website. Students can call the toll-free helpline – 1800 11 7002 – from any part of the country. Information related to examinations and techniques to cope with exam-related anxiety is also provided at the CBSE website www.cbse.nic.in.
Sneha, a 24-hour suicide prevention helpline, aims at reaching out to the youth and offer emotional support. The staff is geared up to give a shoulder to youngsters who are facing exam-related stress or that caused due to peer pressure. Sneha helpline numbers are 2464 0050/60.
For those who are net-savvy, websites such as www.teenfrage.com and online counselling on email ids such as director.edusat@rediffmail.com, help@snehaindia.org promise help.
Counsellors say a person with a history of exam fear, should deal with the issue in advance, possibly three or six month before the examination. Teachers say today's generation is under a lot more stress as they are growing in a competitive environment and expectations of parents are high.
Often, children are not comfortable in sharing their feeling with their parents. “The other day, I had a parent of a Class X student who wanted me to speak to his daughter as she would get up at odd hours in the night and say I am scared,” says Vatsala Santhanam, chemistry teacher at CSI Bain's Higher Secondary School, Kilpauk. She says teachers have a greater role to do. “Teachers need to plan lessons in such a way that they complete the syllabus well in time and give at least three weeks for revision,” she adds.
