How to overcome stress, CBSE

To give students in classes X and XII relief from the examination stress, Central Board Of Secondary Education will be starting its counselling sessions from Monday. Twenty counsellors from across the country will listen to students' problems over the phone. Any issue related to upcoming exams can be discussed with them.

"The purpose of these counselling sessions is to relieve the children from the pressure that they might be facing and help them maintain their mental health," said CBSE counsellor Rakesh Sachdeva, who is principal of DAV Model  Senior Secondary School, Sector 15.

The programme that was started 13 years ago by the board saw great success in the city in 2009. Around 500 calls were received in the two months off the helpline's opening. This year also, counsellors are hoping to help many children.

"I am already getting calls from students about various things like the system of continuous and comprehensive examination, places where they can download question papers, format of CBSE exams and the syllabus as well. We will handle calls from students from all over India. Parents, teachers and students should read circular no. 5 for issues related to the exams on the CBSE website," said

counsellor Madhu Bahl, principal of KBDAV, Sector 7.

Students and parents can call on the helpline numbers to talk about any problems pertaining to the exams. Counsellors are also equipped to talk about ways to deal with examination stress. The helplines will be open for students and parents to call 24 hours a day till March 31. Anonymity of the callers would be maintained.

Most of Class X students opt for Boards

Despite the option with the Class X students of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to appear in Boards or school-based internal examinations, majority of students have opted for the Boards.

While in both the cases, the question papers are framed by the Board, the difference is in the evaluation.

Surprisingly, in absence of clarity over options, most of the schools have asked the students to opt for the traditional Board pattern instead of the internal exams. While in some cases, the parents have discouraged their wards from opting for school-based exams.

“The total number of applications the Board has received from various schools from the region for Class X Board examination did not decrease considerably, though the final figure is yet to be released. The major reason behind this is the lack of awareness among schools as well as their parents. Despite organizing several orientation programmes in the schools, they are still in a dilemma. Lack of awareness at the time of filling the examination forms made the students opt for Board examinations only,” said R J Khanderao, Regional Officer. CBSE. 

This is agreed upon by the Principal of Shivalik Public School, J S Bedi, “Parents want their wards to opt for the traditional Board examinations. Since Board examinations are being conducted for years now, it will take some years for the public to adopt another pattern. Also, it is believed that those who would apply for CBSE Board examinations would be a month behind those who go for internal examinations. As the Board result would take some time, the internal results would be declared early which would help the students to take admissions in Class XI.” He said in his school, though, around 80 per cent of the students have opted for internal examinations.  

“The absence of clarity over admissions in Class XI has forced the students from both private and government schools to opt for Board examinations,” revealed one of the senior officials of the Education Department.

“ As there is still confusion over internal question paper, marking and report cards among schools, despite the Board's encouragement to schools to opt for internal examinations, the schools have asked the students to opt for the Board pattern,” said Rakesh Sachdeva, Principal DAV Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 15.

The internal and Board examinations have also to do with the option of either continuing in the same school or changing it after Class X.

“Generally, the students who want to stay in the same school after Class X would opt for internal examination. Many students opt for government schools in Class XI which helps them in taking coaching classes for engineering or medical entrance examinations,” said H S Mamik, Chairman of Vivek High School.

DPS School Principal Reema Dewan said, “What is the use of implementing the CCE pattern by the Board when the schools are still opting for the Board examinations. This would mean an entire year has been wasted in the exercise. Also, there is confusion among schools over pre-board examinations.”  

CBSE class X exam not quite so fearsome in this year

This year’s is a batch of students at schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) that will exercise a choice that others before them never had.

As class X students in CBSE schools prepare for their ‘term-ending’ examinations in March, they are privileged with the choice of either taking the board examination, or writing an exam conducted by the school.

With the introduction of the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) scheme, now students can choose to revise half the syllabus for the March examination. They have already completed a system of evaluation for the other half earlier.

CCE requires students to go through evaluation processes periodically.

There are formative assessment (FA) tests, and end-of-term summative assessment procedures (SA). There are thus tests spread out across the academic calendar, offering students the choice of doing away with the annual board examination of the CBSE.

Students are happy with the new scheme of assessment. The burden of mammoth coursework, usually associated with class X board examinations, has lifted. “I have opted out of the board examination. I will now be studying only half the syllabus in all subjects. I’m happy with this decision to write the examination conducted by my school,” said Akhil Verma, a class X student at a prestigious CBSE school in the city.

Akhil’s classmate Poornima P said that with the optional board exam, stress levels have gone down drastically. “I’m relaxed about the whole thing, and quite prepared for the school exam,” she said.

No more bitter competition
The CBSE made class X board exams optional from 2011, as part of the CCE system, introduced for classes IX and X in 2009. Although there was apprehension among parents, the number of students who opted out of the board examination shows that students have backed CCE to the hilt.

In the very first year,about two-thirds of students have opted out of the board exam. CBSE sources said around 5 lakh students (of the 8.23 lakh students in class X in CBSE schools across the country) have opted to go with the school examination.

Under CCE, an academic year is divided into two terms. There are two types of assessment procedures — formative assessment (FA), spread out across the year, and summative assessment (SA), conducted at the end of each of the two terms of the academic year.

The students are offered grades rather than marks, dulling the intense competitiveness. “The competition is not so bitter now,” says Manjula Raman, principal, Army Public School, Bangalore.