‘No sleep, how to prepare’: In a month, 1,900 calls flood Gujarat helpline as Class 10, 12 exams begins

While some, despite being well-prepared, are in self-doubt, sleepless nights and sleepy mornings are getting some overwhelmed. Some students dialled the helpline number seeking tips to write an exam, some asked for ways to stay positive.

Class X and XII students will appear for their board exams, scheduled to begin on Thursday. The exams are scheduled from February 27 to March 17 for Class XII general stream, and from February 27 to 10 for Class X and XII science stream.

“We get panic calls from students mostly when exams are nearing. For instance, Class XII science students have done their preparations well in advance but they feel they are not able to remember anything. They feel like quitting. Our counsellors tell them there is no benefit in losing a year. There is already a best-of-two option, which gives them an opportunity to appear for the exams for a second time. And even if the result after two attempts is not good, they can take the exams the following year,” GSHSEB Exam Secretary Dinesh Patel told this newspaper.

Minister of State for Education, Praful Pansheriya, in his message to students on Wednesday, asked them not to treat exams as a stress, but as a festival. “If a student does not perform well in any paper, he does not need to be disappointed. Low marks are not the end of life – with hard work and patience, bright success can be achieved in the future. Many students achieve high degrees, including civil services after Class X and Class XII by working hard… parents should also maintain a positive atmosphere at home so that students can appear for the exams fearlessly,” Pansheriya stated in his message.

As per records, concerns and questions put forward by students while they called on the helpline number, included: “While studying, I constantly get negative thoughts”, “An unknown fear of taking the examination is gripping me”, “How to prepare in order to get best results?”, “I am not able to sleep till late in the night and feel sleepy in the morning, due to which my schedule is getting disturbed”, “I feel I would not be able to write during the exam despite being well-prepared”, “As the exams are nearing I feel more scared”.

Candidates have been advised to do light exercises in the morning, meditation and pranayama, read stories with positive messages, indulge in their favourite activities, practice writing. They have also been told that if they prepare well in advance, then there is no need to be scared, and that exams should not considered their ultimate destination of life. Besides being asked to prepare well, they were told to accept the results and build their morale.

Students were also told to treat board exams like school exams where in order to fight stress.

For Class X and XII exams starting Thursday, 14.3 lakh students have registered. As many as 87 zones and 989 centres for Class X and 59 zones and 672 centres for Class XII have been created for the examinations this time.

For the Class X exams, 8,92,882 students have registered, out of whom 7,62,495 are regular students, 15,548 are private students, 82,132 repeaters, 4,293 private repeaters and 28,414 are isolated students. Also 4,285 visually impaired candidates will appear for the exams.

For Class XII general stream exams, a total of 4,23,909 candidates have registered. Among these students, 3,64,859 are regular, 24,061 private, 22,652 repeaters, 8,306 private repeaters and 4,031 isolated candidates, apart from 1,822 visually impaired. For the Class XII science exams, a total of 1,11,384 students have registered, including 1,00,813 regular candidates, 10,476 repeaters, 95 isolated students, 144 visually impaired candidates.

The state government has appointed Class-I and -II officers to ensure the exams are conducted in a transparent manner. “Along with this, strict monitoring will be maintained at all examination centres with the help of technology. The control room will be constantly monitored for all the arrangements including the transportation of papers from the main centre. Besides, the police department and other government agencies will always be ready to help if any student faces any problem,” a statement issued by the state government said.

Further, on the instructions of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation has arranged free bus service for the students so that they can easily reach the examination centres.