With each student working hard to outdo his or her counterparts, a sense of competitiveness can be felt everywhere.
During this time, even intimate friends who probably share all secrets with each other, start taking extra care to hide notes and question banks from one another. There are students who even cut off connectivity with their classmates to avoid sharing their resources. Thus, examinations turn friends into rivals for a short while.
Admits Mandaara, a second year B Sc student at National College, “Exam rivalry is common among students.”
She confesses that she too, deceives her friends when it comes to exam preparations. “I have a lot of friends and I share everything with them except for exam materials. I get notes and question papers of previous years easily from my sister, who is in the final year. I consider them as my privilege and don’t like to share them,” she reveals.
Another secret that she keeps is about the portions she has read.
“No student is truthful in this regard. Even though most students start revising, they say they are yet to complete some portions. Then why should I reveal my study status?” she reasons.
Nayana from Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering has another story to tell.
“I have joined a coaching class outside college and have paid a huge sum of money. Now my classmates are asking me for my tuition notes. I spent money and time to get them, so I won’t give them to anyone. If I share my notes with my friends, we all will write the answers in a similar manner. It will result in less marks,” she says.
Says Vidya B, an engineering student, “To a certain extent, rivalry can be comprehended. But sometimes, it becomes difficult to obtain information about the classes that we have missed. I don’t know why students get so scared to share the information,” says Vidya.
But there are many broad-minded students as well like Vivek Patel, a student of New Horizon College of Engineering, who helps his friends in all matters pertaining to exams. He does not mind sharing notes and website links.
He even goes one notch further and tutors his friends. “I don’t have any problems in mentoring my friends as it helps me revise the things I have read.”
Praveen S, another student, has set a boundary for himself. “I refer to many books and prepare my own notes. Except those notes, I am ready give away other resources,” says Praveen.
Students have also found several ways to deceive their classmates in this regard.
“During exam time, the behaviour of most of my friends changes. They don’t invite anyone to their house for group studies or reveal the sources they refer to. Some friends even switch off their mobile phones to avoid note-borrowers,” says Mahindra of BNM College.