Rivals but friends, students team up to crack the exams

City students prefer studying in groups for the board exams, helping each other stay focussed.

When Priya Rastogi, 16, began studying for her Class 10 board exams, she would often find herself cheating her study schedule by chatting with friends on Facebook or playing a game on her cell phone.

That’s when she decided to call her friends over for a ‘group study’ session. “I realised that it was better to study in a group because we can keep a watch on each other from getting distracted. We also clarify each other’s doubts,” said the student of Modern English School, Dadar (west).

Rastogi is among the growing number of city students, who prefer studying in groups. Felix Jeyaraj, 15, a student of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Sion, has reached the second round of revision thanks to the discussions and the strict timetable followed by his study group. “I get together with some of my school friends for a few hours after tuitions. All of us would switch off our phones and fix a time by which we would finish learning a particular chapter from the subject we take up on that day. We then quiz each other on the chapter,” said Jeyaraj.

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“The biggest benefit of studying in a group is motivation. Each student is aware that the other knows a little more than he or she does and that is what motivates him or her to work harder,” said Margaret Pinto, assistant headmistress of from Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. The math teacher added that discussing important points helps memorise them better.

Studying together is also about group dynamics. Abhishek Joshi, 16, from Podar International School, Sanatcruz, is choosy about who he will study with. “I have a group of four and all of us are on the same academic level. Someone who is not on different level could affect the study rhythm and our morale,” said the Class 10 student.

Joshi and his friends solve previous years’ question papers and time each other. “It is better to study with friends than to waste time daydreaming when I’m trying to study alone,” says Joshi.

Parents too are seeing the benefits of the group effort.

“If one’s friends are sincere, and hardworking then they can motivate each other. However, it is not acceptable that they simply get together to have a gala time,” said Bharti Gupta, 40, a parent of a Class 12 student.