The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) has received 1,800 calls so far on its toll-free exam helpline for counselling of board students and parents.
The board has launched a toll-free helpline number, 1800-233-5500, dedicated to providing counselling to the class 10 and 12 students and their parents. This service is set to be available round the clock until March 26, the last day of the board exams.
The board said that most of the calls made by students and their parents are related to exam-related anxiety and queries about which reference material should they choose to prepare for the exams.
According to the sources, about 20% of the total calls that were attended by counsellors on GSHSEB’s helpline were related to anxiety and exam phobia. One of the students said that he is undergoing treatment for depression and as sedatives are prescribed, he keeps feeling sleepy and can’t focus on study.
Another student had asked why students cheat during exams? The student suggested that the exam format should be designed in such a manner that students don’t cheat at all. The student also suggested that students should be prepared for exams at the school so that they don’t feel stressed for exams.
The board usually launches its exam helpline a fortnight before the exams begin however, this year the helpline was launched very early on Feb 8 while the Class 10, 12 exams are scheduled to begin from March 11 and end of March 26.
Earlier in January, the Ahmedabad district education officer had announced that a special helpline has been launched for counselling of Class 10 and Class 12 students taking the final examinations. The helpline ‘Sarathi’ will be a 24×7 helpline and expert academicians and psychologists are available for guidance.
The department has created a team of experts and psychologists working with Jivan Astha, a non-government organisation. A statement from the DEO’s office said that the Sarathi Helpline’s WhatsApp number 9909922648 will be available for students round the clock. Sources said that 10% of the total students’ queries were related to which reference material should be used to prepare for exams as there are many guidebooks, teachers’ notes and other reference materials available for them. Sources said that there are very few queries from Class 12 science stream students and most of their queries are about organic chemistry.
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