MM: Exam help is a phone call away: March 18, 2008

Exam help is a phone call away

Numerous helplines across the city provide aid to troubled SSC students, easing away their exam stress …ASHLESHA ATHAVALE AND BAPU DEEDWANIA

Sixteen-year-old Priyanka Pawar, an SSC student from Kurla, hanged herself on Sunday because she felt she had answered the English paper badly.

Every year, around the HSC and SSC exams, there are such reports of suicides by students who felt they did not fare well or who were afraid of the shame their families would go through if they did not score a certain percentage. Invariably, the action is blamed on competition, stress and great expectations. There are ways in which students can get help to reduce the tension helplines being one of the more prominent.

Aasra (2754 6669), a Navi Mumbaibased crisis intervention centre runs a helpline for depressed and suicidal people. As with most helplines, the caller does not need to reveal his or her identity. Says director Johnson Thomas, We get about 15 calls from students every day. Some are worried about how they will pass; Some even say I feel like killing myself.

Aasra also holds workshops in schools around exam time. Says Thomas, We also get calls from distressed parents, who are worried about their child.

While some students call during the exams, some call after the exam is over, fearing the results. Says Thomas, Recently, one student called because he felt he hadnt answered a paper well. He felt his future plans would go down the drain. The volunteer gradually helped him think clearly. He realised he had set his expectations too high, which were painful.

Asked if the calls come around the exams, Yuva Childline (2515 0333) coordinator Santosh Dhamale says, Calls come through the year. Also, it wouldnt be right to say they come because of exam stress, as there are many factors which contribute to stress in a students life. There is too much violence these days for instance.

Naina Athale, a students counsellor for three schools opines that teenagers lead an easy life which is why they cannot cope with pressure. She says, Todays kids have email, mobile phones. Their parents are watching them constantly, in order to protect them and give them what they want. So children are losing the capacity to work hard to achieve something.

She feels it is upto parents to open channels of communication, and not just watch their child study.

Psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty blames the globalized world which is disconnecting us from our loved ones. He says he has at least 25 students asking him for help every day.

Shetty feels the students today are not getting enough help from parents and teachers. He says, Helplines can help to an extent. But when you are depressed, the rope is more attractive than the phone.

However, he adds, students should be explained that even if they score well, their life is not made. The results are just a ticket to go to college.

BOARD LAUNCHES ITS OWN HELPLINE

The Maharashtra Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has started a helpline to address the queries and worries of students and parents.Calls to the helpline range from complaints of stress to questions about how easy or tough the paper will be. The idea was to comfort the students in case they have specific questions regarding the exam or are under stress, says Basanti Roy, MBSHSEs divisional secretary,Four officials have been assigned to this job and have been trained to handle queries. During HSC exams, we received nearly 200 calls both from students and parents asking us about the paper, said Roy. We also get calls from parents whose child is nervous and is not able to concentrate on studies, says a senior official, They ask us to have a word with them and tell them that the paper is simple and they need not worry. People call the helpline even in the case of megablocks on train routes and train delays.We assure parents that their children will be given extra time and hence they should not panic, says Roy. The helpline numbers (2789 3756/ 2765 9491) are open from 8 am to 9 pm.