Shyama Rajagopal

G. Krishnakumar

KOCHI: Anxiety before the publishing of SSLC results is probably too much to handle for students, who are pushed hard both by parents and school authorities for a good academic performance. This time too the students are confused, as their performance will not be judged by marks but grades.

No one has expressed any reservation or happiness about the grading system, said P. Vijayalakshmi Menon, coordinator of Maithri, a suicide prevention centre in the city. Opening their centre 24 hours for three days from Tuesday, in view of the publishing of SSLC examination results, the centre took about 100 calls in the morning session itself. "Many wanted to know whether we will be giving results over the telephone," said Dr. Vijayalakshmi, who was formerly the District Medical Officer here. Some students had called up just to share their worries about not getting the expected grade, she said. Some wanted to know what to do after completing SSLC, she added.

No counselling

"We make them talk about whatever fears they have. We do not give any counselling over the phone since we do not know anything about them," Dr. Vijayalakshmi said. Usually calls are short, lasting not more than 10 minutes. Students do not linger over the phone with such matters, since they would usually be calling up when they are alone. Talking about their inner feelings to someone provides a mental relief, she added. "Are the results available on the Internet?" was one of the major queries posed by several SSLC students who made a distress call to Childline on Tuesday. The toll free number 1098 has become so familiar with students over the last few years. On the eve of the publishing of SSLC results, the counsellors at Childline were busy handling hundreds of calls from students.

Queries about results

"Most of them wanted to know whether the results are available on the Internet. Such calls started pouring in from Monday onwards. Some of the students were so eager that they were asking us how to know the results at the earliest," says Sunil, one among the 11 counsellors at Childline. Childline, which works round the clock, functions in three shifts (9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.). There are two phone lines available for counselling. Counsellors at the centre had already visited hundreds of schools in Ernakulam district as part of creating awareness among the students about the services offered by Childline. Besides students, parents also make calls to the centre enquiring about various courses available in the higher education sector. Counsellors provide inputs on courses being offered by various educational institutions in the State.

Students also ask about the job opportunities.

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