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Most students will reluctantly agree that exams are a necessary evil. While most want to be done with them as quickly if not as painlessly as possible, this year’s exam schedule has been a cause of teen angst: though all the educational boards, SSC, ISC and CBSE have clubbed the class 10, 11 and 12 exams together,

there are some stragglers that have been scheduled 20 days apart from the main cluster making the ordeal seem interminable.
 Anshika John, 17, an ISC student complains, “This is a perfect catch-22 situation. My SSC friends wrap up their exams today and are going to celebrate! On the other hand, I will be cooped up indoors, unable to study, nor will be able to chill with friends. The procrastination puts us on a guilt trip as well.”
Divya Ruth,17, just wanted her exams to get over quickly, but, “My next exam is on April 7! That’s more than a fortnight away. Today the SSC exams are done but I will have to quietly sit and keep my nose to the grindstone.”
The exam slog apart, what’s driving the teens up the wall is a complete clamp-down on their social lives.
With the ‘neither here nor there’ limbo of a long break between exams, the momentum is lost and the motivation to study hard is nada. Irate students complain that they’re approaching burnout.
“We have a strict curfew to follow. We don’t get to go out, nor can we go out of station. Our previous exams were spaced out between three to four study holidays which were ideal for revision,” rues Sanchita Agarwal, a 17-year-old.
“However, the economics exam refuses to get over. What’s worse is that our syllabus was covered way back in September. We have had a gazillion tests since then, we can’t motivate ourselves enough. For most students, the revision will begin only a few days prior to the exam since the actual prep is all done,” she adds.

 

N. Kartik Rao