Handling post-result stress
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With students even committing suicide after failing in examinations, the CBSE has come up with a post-result helpline to help students relieve stress. Voluntary organisations too offer them counselling.
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— Photo: H. Vibhu
TESTING TIMES: A student reacts after writing an examination.
Preparing for examinations and knowing their results are stressful to students and parents. With this in mind, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has come up with a post-result helpline on its website.
The helpline advises students to look out for physical, mental, emotional and addictive symptoms and self-deprecating comments made with a great deal of anxiety over examination results. It gives a list of must-dos for parents and students to deal wit
h the problem.
The website advises against consumption or abuse of psychotropic drugs or commonly used cough syrups, sedatives and painkillers without prescription. Tips on handling suicidal tendencies among adolescents come with a list of common feelings in such extreme cases and indicators of increased chances for death. A list of counsellors is also given.
Impact of grading
“The grading system introduced in 2006 in the State SSLC [Secondary School Leaving Certificate] examinations has reduced the number of calls and direct visit to us,” says P.N. Suresh Kumar, consultant psychiatrist and director, Thanal Suicide Prevention Centre, Kozhikode.
Thanal got 400 calls, both over phone and in person, when it set up a helpline for three days from the eve of announcement of the SSLC examinations results in 2005. Of these, 250 were genuine cases (related to stress or anxiety due to examination result announcement). In 2005, the grading system was not introduced.
However, in 2006, when the system came into force, Thanal got 200 calls, out of which 100 were genuine. In 2007, the total calls were 150, out of which 30 were genuine. Of these 30 calls, 20 were from students and 10 from parents.
The parents had called, for example, to tell that their sons or daughters had gone to look for the results and they did not know whether their wards would pass. Students had said that they would not get good marks and did not know how to face parents and friends.
Useful
“In 2007, we had told the students about SAY (save-a-year) examinations for those who failed. Later, some four or five students and a few parents came to us and told that this information was very useful,” Dr. Suresh said.
Some students had called to convey their anxiety on career-related issues. “I have got less marks in SSLC; will I get engineering or medicine in future,” asked one of them.
Dr. Suresh says that according to the State Crime Records Bureau, 71 students committed suicide after failure in examinations in 2000; 86 in 2001; 89 in 2002; 70 in 2003; 71 in 2004; and 70 in 2005.
As the figures show, there is no significant increase or decrease in the number. In 2000 and 2005, it was 1.3 per cent of the total number of suicides in the State.
The number of students who had committed suicide for reasons other than failure in examinations is 258 in 2000; 281 in 2001; 282 in 2002; 305 in 2003; 336 in 2004 and 281 in 2005. These make up 0.4 per cent of the total number of suicides in the State.
Dr. Suresh says that students depressed by academics-related problems call up the Thanal office round the year.
Teachers can do a lot to help such students, who often have behavioural problems with friends, teachers and even parents. They may even start substance abuse and bunk classes.
Many of these students complain of headache, stomach ache, indigestion, “mood out,” sibling rivalry, less sleep and reduced food intake, besides depression, anxiety and problems with family.
Some students complain that though they have enrolled for the State syllabus, they are being taught additional subjects from the CBSE stream, raising the work load.
Dr. Suresh says that most schools do not have examination-oriented counselling.
The Education Department can arrange counselling for students. The best way to do it cost-effectively, as accepted worldwide, is to rope in voluntary organisations, he says.
J.S. BABLU
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