The exam guide

Bhati is used to hearing confessions. As a school counsellor,it’s her job to hear students out and counsel them. And with the annual CBSE exams arriving in just a few weeks,Bhati is ready to don her second mantle — that of a CBSE counsellor. She volunteers every year to help students during exams.

“It’s that time of the year again and I am preparing myself for more work. CBSE started its annual pre-exams counselling from February 1 and as the days roll by,I am expecting more and more kids to come to me,” says Bhati.

Bhati joined Delhi Public School,R K Puram,as a counsellor in 1994. After getting a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Rajasthan University,she went to the UK to pursue a PhD in Mental Health. She has been a counsellor for more than 16 years now. During the annual board exams,she counsels students,giving them tips on how to relax,how to prepare their time table and more importantly,asks them “to just relax”.

Bhati reaches school at 7.30 am,then spends the next ten minutes reviewing her agenda for the day. Her counselling sessions with students can stretch from 15 minutes to two hours.

And during the annual CBSE counselling time,it is not just children from her school,but students from schools all over Delhi who call her. During exams,she says,her phone rings constantly.

Every year,CBSE starts its pre-exam counselling and post-result counselling for both students and parents. According to CBSE officials,49 principals,trained counsellors from CBSE affiliated government and private schools and a few psychologist will participate in tele-counselling and address exam related psychological problems of students this year.

For Bhati,the busiest time of the year is the period between January and April and then between July and October. “January to April is the peak time. There is a lot of anxiety among children and parents. There are many depression cases during this time. At times,about 15-20 children,looking for a quick-fix solution,just barge into my room without an appointment.”

Then when the session starts in July,Bhati gets busy once again. She deals with at least 20 children in a day. After school,she goes to a hospital three days in a week and to another institute the next three days. Each day she reaches home by 6 in the evening. But the calls don’t stop even then. Sometimes,children call her at even 1 am or 2 am. “I get calls in the middle of the night. Children just want to share. I just listen to them. That is the best I can do in such cases.”

A school counsellor’s job is tough but Bhati says the gratitude she receives from students is what she cherishes most. “I receive thank-you notes from children often. They send me small gifts every now and then. Some hug me when they see me,” she says.

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