CBSE, schools counsel parents before exams

CHENNAI: As exams near, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and schools have decided to counsel the parents as much as the
students.CBSE has issued, along with tips for students to prepare for the exams, guidelines for parents. The list advices parents on how to give the right kind of support to the child. It talks about how parents should guide the child in planning, organising and setting up a timetable for study and how to motivate and encourage them. It tells parents not to place their anxiety on the child.

"I have seen parents becoming more anxious than the children or the teachers. They don't allow the children to relax. They want to attain their goals through their children. It sometimes becomes a prestige issue for them," says CSI St Stephen's Matriculation High School principal Geetha Solomon, warning of negative results such pressure can give.

Jeeva Veerappan, mother of Nandini who will be taking her class X board exams this year, says, "My daughter studies in a matriculation school, but I happened to look at the CBSE website and found the guidelines for parents useful. It told me how to encourage my child to study without stressing her out."

Schools are also doing their bit to tell parents how to do the right thing. SBOA Model Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Mogappair convened a special counselling session for parents. Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School handed out circulars that included the right diet for students studying late into the night to methods to keep them calm and motivated.

Parents have also been logging on to the internet for tips. Classontheweb.com has a parents online section that allows them to send queries related to the child's psyche. "We have many parents keying in queries about how to help their child concentrate on their work better and how to keep them relaxed. Our trained counsellors and teachers with several years of experience take the opportunity to tell them how important it is for the child to take small breaks between study sessions. We have a team of 60 to 70 teachers and a trained team of psychological counsellors who provide this service," says Shashikala L, head of web products at Everonn Systems, which powers classontheweb.com.