Experts speak

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">the enormous significance attached to ‘performance’ in examinations, burdens students, sending them into a tizzy. as the final countdown to board examination begins, education times brings to you perspectives from two different education systems the principal of delhi public school r k puram, shyama chona believes there is no time to loose now."even for those who’ve taken it easy, it’s time now to consolidate of what you’ve learnt in the past 12-14 years," she said. asserting that good preparation is bound to succeed, chona remarked, "stay indoors and study very hard." she opined that last-minute coaching and taking additional tuitions cannot be a substitute for regular and thorough studies. <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">stress factor</span> saying that a lot of publicity is being given to the stress factor, she contended that it should not be made a big issue. "stress is not at all a factor if you’ve studied regularly. fear of examination must have been eliminated after having appeared for so many exams in schools. it’s mainly parental and peer pressure that affects the students. reducing the performance anxiety results in better performance. no one is immune to failure. all of us slip from time to time - it is only human. i tell my students to ‘keep trying your best, and forget the rest’. "examination can always be difficult, but that should not make them loose their nerves," said chona. welcoming the proposed change of pattern in cbse exam in some of the subjects this year, chona, however, felt that it could have benefited the students more if the announcements came before the pre-board examinations. <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">proper sequence</span> her advice during those three hours at the exam hall: "the most important thing is to remain calm. read the questions carefully and make your answers to the point. attempt the questions in the order it appears in the question paper. as an examiner myself, i can confirm that it gets very irritating if the questions are not answered in the proper sequence. secondly, you must finish the paper at least 15-20 minutes before the last bell rings to give yourself time for revision. finally, don’t worry too much about what your neighbour is doing." citing the distinction between british and indian school education, the principal of the british school, lalage prabhu remarked, "the whole system is different and is driven by the interests of students. the range of options is much wider and flexible. students can opt for a mix of science and humanities subjects even at class xii." students usually take eight subjects in class x and three to four in class xii. "though the minimum requirements for higher studies are five and two subjects respectively at class x and xii level, that is not adequate to get you an entry into the best of institutions," reasoned prabhu. each subject has more than one paper on which the students are tested during the examination. the duration for class xii examination is usually three hours while for class x, the papers range between one and two hours. and yes, students are graded as opposed to the practice of marking. <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">grading system</span> prabhu felt that the gap between the number of admission seekers and the seats available in good institutions in india is a major contributor to the increasing pressure on students. "the admission cut-offs are reasonably high because of the numbers involved. there’s no room for students and hence the stress," she observed. prabhu advocated for the grading system, saying it is less stressful. the british school has just conducted the mock examination and the finals would be held in may-june. students will be given preparatory leave in april. "anyone taking an examination faces some sort of anxiety. however, we attempt to alleviate that by ensuring that students are well-prepared," she added. <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">familiarise yourself</span> prabhu’s tips for preparation: "you need to familiarise yourself well with the subjects. maintain a regularised life and follow a study schedule. examinations are meant to test the application of the knowledge you have acquired, so you need a lot of practice. interpret the questions carefully and attempt answering in a given time. make sure to arrive on time at the exam centre." </div> </div>