Every academic year, with the approaching examination season comes the string of lectures and write-ups about warding off exam stress. How successful they are, no one knows. For students facing their II Pre-University (PU) exam, the stress soars to the level that has come to be identified with board exams. To cross the bridge that will lead them to the course that determines their future is a herculean task that needs much more than just “exam tips.”
Recognising this, the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), along with the Department of Pre-University Education, has come up with an initiative that caters not just to the II PU exams, but also to the impending CET. ‘Vikasana', a “capacity-building” training programme through the audio-visual medium, is being telecast on Doordarshan's (DD) Chandana Channel. The 42-day programme, which will end on March 11, covers English, History, Economics, Political Science, Commerce, Accountancy, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and Science.
The break-up of the training programme in the first phase: 70 per cent is devoted for PU classes and 30 per cent for CET. In the second phase beginning on April 1 (till April 30), the entire training programme will be dedicated to CET training for the upcoming exams in May.
Revision
Resource persons for providing training have been selected from PU and degree colleges across the State. In every class, they will explain different concepts with illustrated examples. They will also discuss a variety of questions as per the II PU question paper blueprint as well as the right way of answering. Revision of important concepts taught in the classroom will be undertaken, and an exhaustive question bank will be covered.
DD is producing the programme. Speaking about the tremendous response it has been getting, Doordarshan Kendra Director Mahesh Joshi said that routine programmes had to be deviated to accommodate ‘Vikasana' during prime time. “This is a programme that informs, educates and entertains. It benefits the student community. There would be no use if we played it after the examinations are over. So we decided to change the slots of the other programmes,” he said. The TRP of the show is high, no doubt, but Mr. Joshi spoke about the larger reason behind the show's success. Though Bangalore had also responded well to the programme, he said that it was in rural areas and other districts that ‘Vikasana' had really served its purpose. “The response is better in other places because there are no tuition facilities there,” he explained. Mr. Joshi recalled that among the many phone calls that they get after the programme, one was from the 84-year-old grandfather of a PU student expressing his happiness about such an informative programme. This is not the first time that DD has telecast this show. “However, this time it is on a large scale and more systematic. We have produced 300 programmes this time,” he said.
Students can log on to >http://pue.kar.nic.in or >http://kea.kar.nic.in for details.
