Hyderabad: The CBSE and ICSE helplines keep ringing once the board exam results are announced. These helplines have been set up for students and parents who are disappointed by the results.
With toppers scoring aggregate marks ranging between 95 and 100 per cent, society puts unreasonable standards in relation to achievements. “After the results, no student is asked how they feel. The first question is how they have scored. With immense pressure to meet societal expectations, parents are often torn between sadness and love when they reproach their children, not knowing how it impacts the young minds,” said Dr Pragya Reshmi, a psychologist.
It’s true that May is the most cruel month. This is the month when the board exam results are declared. Most entrance tests are also held in May and results declared. Students go through a lot of stress.
“The level of anxiety, along with hormonal issues that a teenager faces when the results are delayed, is immense. Parents should be prepared by the CBSE and school authorities and any warning signs of depression in children should be immediately acted upon,” she said.
Dr Namita Singh, a psychologist, said, “Why do we create so much pressure around the results? If parents pressurise a child, they are living somebody else's life. You cannot expect a fish to fly.”
Celebrities like Dhirubhai Ambani and Sachin Tendulkar never completed their schooling. Film stars like Deepika Padukone, Karisma Kapoor only had their basic schooling. It’s high time the society sheds its notion of grades as success.
St Mary’s, Hyderabad, the alma mater for sportspersons like V.V.S Laxman and Saina Nehwal, promotes extracurricular activities. “When students who are interested in sports come to our college, it’s understandable academics won’t be their first priority. We try to strike a balance. One cannot force a child to study and not play or do what he/she doesn’t like,” says Mathew George, the principal.
A recent case of suicide at Painter’s colony, Machilpattanam, of Jogi Srivani, a 13-year-old girl who was reprimanded by her mother for her poor performance in exams, shows us ugly side of parental pressure.
