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Exam stress: A ticking time bomb for students

The recent suicide of a 16-year-old Indian student has once again highlighted the inability of Indian schools to reduce exam-related stress.

Two Indian students have already committed suicide in less than a month, possibly due to exam-related stress, calling attention to the failure of school counsellors to address depression and suicidal tendencies.

Indian curriculum schools have been routinely criticised by the UAE’s education regulator for promoting rote-learning. The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), in its latest report on Indian schools, said school leaders have “failed to address or prioritise teaching methods”.

Students in Indian curriculum schools have to take examinations in Grade 10 and 12 at the end of the year. These exams are seen as a stepping stone for selecting a career of choice. Parents over-emphasise performance in these board exams and in some households, cut off television connections, minimise cell-phone usage, reduce play time and even seclude children from social gatherings. The increased pressure and social seclusion negatively impact students.

School authorities deny their role in creating exam-related stress and believe the recent reforms in examination system have helped students.

Abraham Prakash, principal of the boys section at the Indian High School in Dubai (Grade 5 to 10) says the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has taken measures to reduce stress over the years. “The Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) pattern of CBSE is designed to reduce stress which was previously created by once a year final exams. Accordingly, the Summative Assessment 2 (SA2), which was formerly known as the annual examination, now has only 30 per cent weightage. The remaining 70 per cent is assessed by ongoing, year-long continuous and comprehensive evaluation and hence there is not much pressure on students.”

He noted the evaluations are aimed at reducing stress and not creating fear in students.

“In Grade 10, it is seen that the secret to success is a stress-free SA2 which requires being consistent and focused on studies throughout the year by avoiding procrastination. By the end of January, the picture is fairly clear as 70 per cent weightage (from formative assessments and SA1) is already known to students. While this helps reduce stress for the final exam (SA2), a note of caution for students is to set realistic and achievable targets for SA2 since it cannot create any dramatic change in grades for the year.”

While the reforms in examination system have helped many students perform better in recent years, psychiatrists believe more needs to be done to help students cope with depression.

According to Dr Veena Luthra, consultant psychiatrist at the American Centre for Psychiatry and Neurology in the Capital, depression among teenagers and sometimes even in very young children is quite common but often “not picked-up or diagnosed”. “I’ve seen a lot of severe depression cases with some at risk of suicide. Depression is the most common reason for suicide,” she said.

A major sign of depression is when a student shows a marked change in regular behaviour. It can include the child keeping to himself, becoming less social, losing interest in things or developing a lack of concentration resulting in lower grades at school.

Referring to the 16-year-old Indian boy who committed suicide after getting ‘upset’ with his poor performance in exams, Dr Luthra said being in Grade 11, the pressure of scoring good grades and thinking about the year-end exams could have affected the student, along with the pressure of preparing for college.

“Competition is very fierce and this puts too much pressure on the child not performing very well. He loses confidence, feels hopeless and in that hopeless state, reaching absolute bottom, he doesn’t think he can solve the problem any other way. And that distorted negative thinking is the thinking of a depressed hopeless person. He sees no other solution,” she explained.

The pressure of performing for marks and good grades has claimed the lives of many students and the recent suicide cases are cases in point. Dr Luthra noted: “I think Indian parents value education a lot and they want their child to excel in school and this puts additional pressure on children, especially if he is an average child and does not meet expectations of parents.”

She advised parents to keep the communication lines with their teenaged children open. “When children become teenagers, they tend to pull away from parents…but it is important that you maintain your connection with your child as family. Do activities together so that they can see if the child is having a problem and they can see the changes.”

In 2010, a school health survey by the World Health Organisation and the UAE Ministry of Health found 12.6 per cent UAE students had considered attempting suicide one or more times. The survey had covered 2,581 students between the ages of 13 and 15 years. 

muaz@khaleejtimes.com,  olivia@khaleejtimes.com