In stressful times

Despite efforts to reduce performance-related stress,counsellors in city observe that students continue to reel under pressure.

The of Class X and XII results (CBSE and ICSE) have brought many success stories to light. There is,however,also a large group of students who did not clear the exams with flying colours or scored marks according to their expectations. And despite much orientation sessions for students,teachers and parents alike,counsellors in the city say the level of stress related to academic performance has not seen any marked difference over the years. They observe that the confidence level,for many students,is still directly proportional to the marks they score in board exams.

Shivani Nimbalkar,a counsellor,says she has received at least 10 calls seeking appointments since the CBSE Class XII results were announced on Monday. Students are usually very scared about what family members or acquaintances think of them. They lose confidence and feel they are not capable of doing anything worthwhile with their lives. The efforts to relieve academic stress,like grading system,has helped to a very limited level, she says. Nimbalkar dispels the notion that parents are more chilled out now. Several parents call me to talk to their children and convince them to take a certain stream or course. That pressure is largely the same as it used to be some years ago, she says.

Though consultant psychiatrist Dr Arvind Panchanadikar has not yet received any frantic call regarding exam results,he is not willing to see it as an indicator of a positive swing in trend. The state board results are yet to be declared and a majority of students in the city are looking forward to it. From my patients,I realise that the rat race continues. Though several new avenues have opened up and medical and engineering are not as important as they used to be,students are experiencing new stress with new fields, he says.

Bobby Zachariah,CEO of Connecting,an NGO that offers counselling services in the city,says there hasnt been a significant increase in the number of calls on their helpline numbers since the board results were declared. However,there is no doubt that performance-related academic stress continues,not just at the beginning or end of the year but constantly throughout the year. Students have high expectations and when the marks dont match,there is distress. We also find that while there are certain sections where parents are encouraging,there are still many who continue to keep pushing their children to score more, says Zachariah.

The phone continues to ring at Vyaktitva Vikas Prabodhini,which was listed as a counselling helpline on the state boards website last year. Pavan Kumar Gaikwad,who works for the helpline,confirms that there is no drop in the number of distress calls. He says while the causes for academic stress might have changed,it has not decreased. Students now compare themselves with peers and find themselves lacking or they have high expectations that are not met in the results because of which they begin to doubt their abilities.

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