Burning the midnight oil

Srija Choudhury of Hamdard School stays awake after midnight almost every day, but when asked what is so different about February, she says, “It is because I have exams in March.”

Choudhury is in class XII and her Boards are ‘on her head’ as she put it. She says that she has studied throughout the year but still feels extremely pressured at the moment.

“I remember when I was in class IX, when the grade system was introduced in Class X. My family members warned me about XII Boards before hand,” says Choudhury. Being a commerce student she feels she must score ‘at least 98 per cent’ to get into a good college.

She feels that the change in the evaluation system in Class X has made students more prone to stress.

“Now I don’t know the kind of paper that will come. If in Class X had I attempted Boards once, I would have been better off,” the youngster rues.

For Choudhury it is very important to get good marks, in fact “excellent marks”, because only that would be the determining factor to get into a reputed college. “Cut-offs are so high that one has no choice but to try and foresee the future from here. I don’t blame my parents if they are stressed too.”

She quoted the meme that was ‘trolling’ on Facebook saying “St. Stephen’s cut off goes 99 per cent; no wonder the world is at Sharda University.”

For Delhi children DU remains the only option for many reasons, “The brand is also attached, it has been a tradition since years and it is very difficult to imagine anything except DU for me,” says Choudhury who sleeps at 3 am every day and swears to continue with this regime till her exams get over.

Sonali Sen has a sister who is in Class XII. She says, “Getting into Delhi University is of prime importance because it also saves a lot of money. The fees at private universities is way too high.”

Sen speaks for her sister as her sister’s phone has been confiscated during Boards. Responding on her behalf she says, “My sister has set the alarm for 3 am, when she’ll wake up and do last minute revision for the 9 am exam.”

KK Sharma, father of Prashant Sharma who is also preparing for Boards this year says, “Marks are not determinants of intelligence. In our time things were much easier, now competition is too high, especially because of cut-offs. Grade system in Class X has initiated a vicious circle, where children can save themselves from the exam stress during that time, but it has added further stress for class XII students.”

Sharma says he doesn’t want his son to get 90 per cent or above, “I am seeing he is working hard and that’s all that matters to me.”

Dr Samir Parikh, director, Mental Health and Behavioural Science, Fortis Hospital says, “Pressure tends to shoot up for the whole family during this time. It is important to know that this pressure will only cause students to do worse than they would.”

“Last minute studies never help and hence trying too hard will only add to the fear. Children should be doing what they do generally throughout the year, because breaking the conventional way of studying will definitely cause frustration,” he says, adding, “confiscating phone, grounding children to their homes and reminding them again and again of the criticality of the situation will affect their performance adversely.”