Calling students: Dos and don’ts a day before Madhyamik

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, February 17, 2007

With just a day left for this year’s Madhyamik examinations, revision, relaxation, healthy diet and ample amount of sleep are what doctors and teachers prescribe for examinees.
The mantra according to Ujjal Basu, president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), is to stay calm. “The preparation time is over and those who studied throughout the year need to remain composed, so that they can deliver at the examination hall,” he said.
For those who find Basu’s recommendation hard to chew, here’s the doctors’ advise. Anxiety, say doctors, would only cause more stress, even making examiners forget their lessons. “If an examinee feels that he cannot deal with the anxiety and stress, he should visit a doctor. For others, a sound seven-hour sleep and healthy diet is recommended,” says Dr Rima Mukherji, consultant psychiatrist.
But what happens if you discover that the questions are indirect and you feel you have not studied them? “Students who have studied throughout the year only need to practice questions that they find tough to answer. If they revise thrice, they will automatically know what the examiner wants them to write,” said Abhijan Bandhyopadhyay, teacher at Patha Bhavan School.
Examinations are not just about food for thought. What one eats before exams is just as important. Dr Babita Hazarika, executive dietician at Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, said, “A major problem with students is that they start losing their appetite and skipping meals before an exam. This results in poor performance. One should take routine meals and eat what ones likes to eat, provided it is easily digestible.”
Losing sleep over examinations and sitting up late for last-minute preparations is inadvisable. “Most students tend to increase study hours a few days before exams. Sometimes parents advise them to do so. But it is wrong. The body is like a machine. It needs rest and if it does not get it, one cannot perform well,” psychiatrist Dr Aniruddha Deb of Crystal Child and Adolescence Guidance Clinic said.
Some students, however, fail to keep their pre-exam blues away and suffer from panic attacks. It happens if students do not relax adequately and it can even hamper their exams. “Trying to keep away from stress is key to avoiding panic attacks. Students should have enough confidence to face exams. They should keep in mind that they are not the first students sitting inside an examination hall,” said neurologist Dr Amitaba Ghosh from Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com