Counsel students to reduce exam stress

RANCHI: Psychiatrists in the city have stressed on the need for timely counselling of students appearing for board exams.

Jayati Simlai

, former director of

Ranchi Institute of Neuro Psychiatry

and Allied Sciences (Rinpas), said Monday’s incident, in which a Class 12 student tried to commit suicide in the school premises, could have been avoided.

Speaking to TOI, Simlai said the incident perhaps reflected a case of depression stemmed from the burden of expectations from both the student and the parents.

“Students can get depressed because of anxiety. At times, lack of preparation coupled with the expectations from parents and schoolteachers, create a sense of guilt among students,” Simlai said.

“Parents and school teachers should step in and help the child to build self-confidence. If a student is anxious, parents should ask them not to worry about the consequences,” she added.

Simlai also proposed that class teachers should conduct a pre-board exam counselling session. “The teacher knows the strength and weaknesses of each student and can guide them accordingly,” she said.

Siddharth Sinha, senior resident (psychiatry) at Rinpas, proposed that each school must have resident

clinical psychologists

for day to day monitoring of students. “The emotional connection between the students and their teachers is missing. A section of the school teachers is simply professional, who only teach and return home,” Sinha said.