Stress related to examinations among students and their parents has become a growing concern for mental health professionals. As performance pressure mounts, many students struggle with anxiety, fear of failure, sleep disturbances, frustration and poor concentration. These signs are worrying but there is no single solution to do away with the exam-related stress — only a multi-pronged approach can help, say experts.
Sivabalan Elangovan, a psychiatrist based in Chennai, said that parents, most often, complain that their children are not taking their exams seriously, are not studying, not following their schedules, are always on their mobile phones, and do not wake up early to study.
“Parents complain that children do not care enough to put in the required effort towards exams. They also complain that students procrastinate all the time, and then try to cram a lot of material just during the exam,” V. Venkatesh Mathan Kumar, psychiatrist, Institute of Mental Health, Chennai pointed out.
Apart from the many factors that bother parents during exams, are the stressors that students face.
“Many students face a form of emotional blackmail by parents,” Dr. Elangovan said, adding: “The parents talk about their hardships and the money spent on education. When this happens, the fear of not succeeding in meeting their expectations increases in the children. This fear leads to low self-esteem, guilt, poor concentration, sleeplessness and stress as exams near.”
No longer a simple task
Preparing for examinations is no longer simple. Dr. Elangovan observed that as per the pattern now, students prepare for two examinations simultaneously: their board exams as well as entrance examinations. “They go to school, tuititions, study at home and attend separate coaching classes for entrance examinations too. There is no “me” time left. They follow a schedule designed by others — their parents, their tutors and school. They do not have an individual style of learning,” he said.
How does this stress manifest physically and mentally? Dr. Kumar explained: “In the physical realm, the stress is like carrying a stone-filled knapsack on their shoulders. Overwhelming is the apt word for most students.” There are issues of sleep disturbance, fatigue, apprehension, fear and not being able to anticipate what is on the anvil, he added.
On the mental plane, fear makes students feel nightmarish about the whole process of taking exams, he added. They need a lot of support and cooperation from their family and friends.
Another factor is that casual conversations have disappeared from most households and social circles. “In many circumstances, conversations at home and outside are centered around examinations. Parents do not have casual conversations with children. When the child is in class XII, they talk only about examinations most of the time. Similar conversations happen wherever the students go. There are social pressures as well,” Dr. Elangovan added.
Examinations have been made into a phenomenon that is demanding, competitive, overburdening and stressful instead of keeping them casual or sportive, he said. “As a result of these factors, the performance of many students drops as exams near. They do not sleep, they get angry, scared and sometimes, resort to self-harm. We see a lot of frustration in students of classes XI and XII owing to the entrance examinations,” he noted.
What are the solutions?
Education should be made more student-friendly, said Dr. Elangovan, adding: “The value attached to examination should change. It is important for parents to talk to their children about things apart from exams. Students should be told to concentrate on putting in their efforts and not to think about the outcomes. Let them have a schedule of their own. Such an environment will reduce their anxiety and help in improving their performance.”
Dr. Kumar lists out some dos and don’ts. It is important for students to be punctual and plan their preparation well in advance. Practice makes perfect, and so, students should put in their full effort in their class tests and term tests. They need to be good listeners in the classroom. “They should not follow their classmates’ study methods, as there is no ‘one size fits all’ method. Sleep, good home-cooked nutrient rich food and a lot of harmony in the family will help them in the long run. Parents should be taken as their allies and they must remember not to wilt and stagger under the burden of parental expectations,” he said.
There is help at hand
With examinations ongoing or around the corner in many parts of the country, there is no dearth of stressors. Very often, mental well-being takes the backseat, and stress gets the upper hand. But help is also available and is within reach now.
Take the Tamil Nadu government for instance. It has been taking efforts to reach out to students, especially those who appear for the board examinations and the NEET medical entrance examination. Round-the-clock tele-counselling services for students are available through the State health helpline 104. Nationally, there is the Tele MANAS helpline 14416.
The T.N. government also annually initiates a dedicated mental health support service for pre-and post-exam counselling. The pre-exam phase involves proactive calls to students experiencing exam-related stress, while the post-exam phase focuses on students who have failed and require support to cope with their results. In 2024, 27,393 calls were made for stress management for students who were unsuccessful in the class X examinations and 51,919 calls were made to students who were unsuccessful in class XII.
The District Mental Health Programme team is also roped in to support children who need help.
Published – February 27, 2025 04:41 pm IST