Board Exam Brouhaha

The 12th standard board exams are off to a tensioned start as usual and the students are bucking down to serious study, but is the whole board exam ‘hoopla’ all hype? Says one student who is taking her board exams this year, “It is definitely a lot of hype. From the 11th standard onwards the pressure starts, teachers constantly scaring students by saying things like they will not be promoted, that their future depends on it and so on.”

This is a sentiment that is shared by many students and being just children many are unable to cope with the pressure. It is not uncommon for students to succumb to anxiety attacks and nervous breakdowns.

Says one parent, “Yes it is necessary to motivate children to study well, but pushing them too hard and frightening them is not a healthy way to do it.”

Students approach board exams, be it 10th or 12th with such trepidation and fear that it often affects their health and their studies. Institutes have drilled it into the students that board exams are so critical and the be all and end all of school life. Students therefore are unable to see it as any other exam that deserves their best effort. The added pressure often results in mediocre performance. Nobody is taking away the importance of the board exam, but the amount of hype that surrounds what eventually is just another exam, (besides the extra paperwork involved) is needless.