Tension, anxiety grip students ahead of board exams

New Delhi, March 1 : Nervous children were busy making last-minute preparations, while parents made final consultations with counsellors Sunday, a day before the Class 10 and 12 Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations begin.

"I am nervous and haven't slept properly for the last one week. My appetite has reduced and I am studying for 14-16 hours daily," said Amandeep Mohla, a Class 10 student of Army Public School.

His parents are regularly in touch with CBSE counsellors and are taking tips to deal with the anxiety and stress faced by him.

"He has confined himself to his study room. But he still takes short breaks after hours-long sessions and does some light exercise to keep his mind fresh," said Namrata, Amandeep's mother.

Over 1.45 million students will sit for the examinations starting Monday at over 5,000 centres spread across the country and abroad.

The Class 12 examinations start off with the chemistry paper, while Class 10 begins with Elementary Business. This year, 824,438 students of Class 10 and 637,578 of Class 12 will appear for the exams.

As the examination day nears, CBSE helplines have been flooded with phone calls from anxious students and parents seeking ways to deal with the stress.

As many as 43 principals, trained counsellors from CBSE affiliated schools, psychologists and social scientists are operating helplines individually from India and abroad since Feb 1.

"We have received an overwhelming response from students and their parents. Some of the students are really depressed and anxious about board exams and I talk to them for as long as three to five hours till they are satisfied," said CBSE counsellor Geetanjali Kumar.

The CBSE has also downloaded a short film "Smile Through Stress" and a document "Smile Your Way Through Exams" on its website.

"The film and document is prepared under the guidance of psychiatrists, counsellors, teachers and doctors in order to help parents and students taking the board exams overcome anxiety and fear," said CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma.