Postponed board and competitive exams leave class 12 students anxious

Eighteen-year-old Aarya Tendulkar used to spend at least 12 hours a day studying and preparing for her Class 12 exams as well as the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) until March this year

Eighteen-year-old Aarya Tendulkar used to spend at least 12 hours a day studying and preparing for her Class 12 exams as well as the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) until March this year.

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NEET is an exam that over a million students take every year for admission to undergraduate medical courses in medical institutions, including premier ones like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), among others. Last year alone, 1.6 million candidates registered for the exam; less than half qualified.

Tendulkar and several like her are well aware of how competitive the entrance exam is. This has been her routine since 2019: “My day would start at 6am and I would study continuously till 9am. After a 30-minute break I would once again start at 10am and study till 2.30pm. My coaching institute lectures are scheduled in the afternoon till 7pm, following which I would have my dinner and then revise what was taught in class for an hour or two before calling it a day.”

However, the Ghatkopar resident feels in a bit of a limbo right now. On April 18, the National Testing Agency announced that Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Mains is postponed until further notice while the status of NEET, scheduled for August first week, is yet unknown. “I feel this preparation time will never end and that is leaving me more anxious than ever,” she said.

Rising Covid-19 cases across the country has forced state and national school boards to cancel Class 10 board exams and postpone exams for Class 12 students. Similarly, entrance exams to all undergraduate professional courses have been pushed forward. IIT-Joint Entrance Exams (JEE-Mains) are usually held in April, followed by JEE-Advanced in May. NEET-UG too is scheduled for May every year. However, due to the national lockdown imposed last year, the exams were conducted between September and October 2020.

This year, of the four sessions of JEE-Mains, two were held in February and March while April session has been postponed.

Last year, by the time the national lockdown was imposed, most Class 10 and 12 students had been able to finish most of their board exams: Maharashtra state board Class 12 exams had finished; only one paper remained for those in Class 10; Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 10 and 12 board exams were done; and Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board students were promoted based on the exams already held.

As a result, students sitting for competitive exams this year worry that they may now have to take multiple exams in a stretch.

“My daughter has not taken a vacation in over two years because her focus was to prepare herself best for Class 12 and NEET exams. But last year has been tough for her physically and mentally, and the fact that exams have once again been postponed is leaving her more anxious with every passing day,” said Dr Bharat Shah, father of Manashvi Shah, 18.

Shah joined integrated coaching classes after clearing Class 10 and has dedicated much of the past two years preparing for the all-India medical entrance test in the hope of becoming a neurosurgeon in the future.

“Children have spent the last one year in front of a computer, and the constant postponement of exam dates are adding to the stress levels of already tired teenagers. As parents, we feel helpless,” said Nisha Parmar, mother of Advait Parmar, 17. Parmar could not appear for the second session of JEE-Mains in March as he was in quarantine after his father tested positive.

“I re-registered for the April session and wanted to tick-off at least one exam of my list but now, the April session has been postponed and I am unable to focus on studies anymore,” he said.

“Many Class 12 students are living in fear of falling sick during exams or not faring well in exams as many have lost the concentration to focus on exams with so much happening around them,” said Mumbai-based psychologist Seema Hingorrany.

“Postponement of exams has calmed the nerves of many. However, students are also worried about the seemingly never-ending wait,” said Vinay Kumar, MD and CEO of Rao Academy, a city-based coaching institute.