Exam Stress Drives Students To Dial Tele-Manas

Hyderabad: What would one say if a child scores 54 out of 55? That is the question that Dr P. Jawaharlal Nehru, a senior psychologist with Tele-Manas, asks as he requests parents and students to place board exam performance in perspective. “There should be no cause for alarm if a child falters in one board exam among the many they have written until Class 10.”

As the SSC examination season approaches, rising anxiety among students has initiated both academic interventions and mental health responses across Telangana. Tele-Manas has reported an increase in distress calls, while the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has rolled out last-minute academic support sessions through YouTube for Class 10 students.

Dr Jawaharlal Nehru said Tele-Manas has recorded a surge in calls since mid-January, and he expects this trend to intensify in the coming weeks. “Students are finding it difficult to cope with stress and are expressing an inability to satisfy the expectations of parents,” he said. “They should understand that this phase is temporary and life is permanent. One exam should not take over their life.”

He further cautioned against fear-driven decisions such as skipping papers. “They have already written more than 50 exams. This is just another report card. They should appear for every exam. They might surprise themselves.”

The SCERT initiative, which runs from February 3 to 5 between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm, has been positioned as a final academic support measure, with schools instructed to make arrangements so that all SSC students attend the sessions.

Madhusudan Sadula, state president of the Telangana Recognised School Managements Association and a principal of an SSC school, offered a ground-level view from schools and said that the sessions were useful but not without limitations.

“The medium of instruction for science was Telugu, which not everyone could comprehend, especially students from English-medium schools,” he said. “The department should consider offering an English-medium option as well for these sessions.”

Sadula flagged mental health as an area that needs direct attention during the exam season. “Students feel pressured because of expectations from parents, teachers and their own selves,” he said. “The board should also consider conducting mental health sessions during this period to help students handle stress better.”

He said TRSMA has begun organising counselling sessions across the state. “The plan is to bring students from all mandals to a single location for these programmes. Hyderabad will have a session on February 5, where counsellors and personality development professionals will guide students on managing pressure, time and health during exams,” he said.