THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Waiting for the results of SSLC examination is one different and serious experience in student life. There will be hopes and anxieties. Besides, there would be a target set by teachers and parents. At the threshold of another D-day, City Express takes a look at the numerous aspects surrounding the much anticipated day.
Childline helpline, for years, has been the one stop destination for children to open up their pangs so as to receive a word of consolation when the examination results loom large. Like previous years, this time also the foundation has received several telephone calls from students who express their concerns of varied kinds. “A majority of students who seek our advice are worried about the target set by their families,” says Fr. Thomas P D, co-director of Childline. The organisation started receiving calls almost six days before the day of announcement of the results.
“Every day, we are getting nearly 25 calls from children as of now. We give proper guidance to relieve stress and tell them to engage in some activities rather than thinking about results alone,” Resmy Mampilly, coordinator of Childline says.
According to her, the mismatch between aspiration and performance is the major reason found among children. A good number of callers are students who score marks at average and above average levels. “They are worried about the highest score they can attain. The expectations of parents and teachers over such students are also high. This leads them to suffer unnecessary mental stress and it touches the zenith as the results are about to be released,” she says.
Meanwhile, from the side of school authorities, SSLC examination results do not appear to be creating much worries in children. St.Mary’s Higher Secondary School at Pattom in the city is where maximum number of students have appeared for the SSLC examination this year in the state; 1478. Headmistress of the school, Asha Annie George says, “of course we expect a better result than the previous year. Waiting for the results does not appear to have created that much tension on either teachers of students.” According to the headmistress after the regular class tests, teachers make an assessment as to how the students are going to score. “Therefore we never create a feel on students that scoring high marks is an onerous task. Teachers also work hard to improve some students who show poor performance in the class tests. We never keep over- expectation on students as we categorically know the potential of each,” she says.
“We tell our students not to get too tensed about the results at the time they appear for the examination. They are told to perform according to their ability. So we never found the students have anxieties in this regard,” Elizabeth Jacob, teacher at Cotton Hill school says.