Campus Talk: Counsellors flag post-pandemic blues for students appearing in board exams

The Maharashtra state board-run counselling service is witnessing the after-effects of the pandemic on students appearing for board exams this year. Students are struggling with issues like mobile addiction and reduced attention span.

Like every year, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education declared a list of professional counsellors for students and parents to reach out to for help in dealing with stress. As the counsellors started receiving calls, many have pointed out how relaxations introduced during the pandemic have led to many students seeking leniency, when the state board has withdrawn all relaxations.

According to counsellors, before the pandemic, the calls were always related to stress or anxiety around exams, not only from students but also parents. But now the nature of the calls has changed. “Students have been exposed to the idea that there can be other options than taking the board exam. Many of them are now hoping for some easy way out,” shared a counsellor.

One of the counsellors said, “I have received multiple calls seeking clarity if there is a chance that the exams will get cancelled or any online method of evaluation will be considered. Some also asked if the evaluation will be easier post-pandemic…”

Talking about Payal’s case, the counsellor told The Indian Express: “The parents sought help in dealing with the problem of mobile addiction. They were right to feel worried seeing their daughter spend hours on the phone when the exam was just a few days away. But immediately taking away the phone led to her strong reaction. I counselled them on how the family needs to sit together and have a clear conversation before taking any action.”

The counsellor explained how mobiles became essential for studies during the pandemic. “Adults may have shifted back to the pre-pandemic ways easily, but this transition is not easy for teenagers and they are bound to expect a change,” told the counsellor.

The parents, too, said the transition should have been slow instead of rushing to ‘pre-pandemic normalcy’. Anubha Shrivastava from India Wide Parents Association said, “It has been well-established by multiple surveys done by government as well as private entities that children have suffered tremendous academic loss and our education system is not strong enough to bridge this gap immediately…”

This year, the Maharashtra state board has brought back the pre-pandemic examination pattern. While the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination started on February 21, the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam is going to start on March 2.

NUMBERS OF COUNSELLORS –7387400970, 8308755241, 9834951752, 8421150528, 9373546299