Girl who tried suicide 'conquers' exam fears, writes another test
Times of India | 11 March 2024
KOLKATA: A girl, who had tried to die by suicide after a bad CBSE paper around two weeks ago, headed back to the exam hall on Saturday to face another CBSE paper. She says she has finally "conquered" her fear of exams. Teachers and counsellors have held this up as an example for others with exam phobia.
The girl, a meritorious student at a school near Dum Dum, had tried to slash her wrist and throat with a blade at her exam centre in Salt Lake on Feb 22. It was the last leg of the exam and she felt she had failed to deliver. She was rushed to hospital. Upon release, she decided to drop out of this year's exam.
The girl is an extremely sharp student and had scored very well in the pre-boards, said the coordinator of her school. "But she couldn't complete her English Core paper and became very upset," the coordinator said, adding, "Her injury was not fatal but she had broken down and decided not to take the rest of the boards. Her parents, teachers and counsellors tried hard to motivate her, and she thought she was up to it."
On Saturday morning, before the maths exam started, her school's principal and maths teacher were present outside the examination centre to boost her confidence. Their message to her was, "You have to believe in yourself." She followed their advice and came out smiling. "Finally, I could conquer my fear of examinations," she said.
The longish gap between the two exams was fortuitous, as it helped her regain confidence. "It was a challenge for us to bring her back to the exam centre and help her overcome her fears. In this time, each of her teachers, and school officials, took turns to visit her to make her feel comfortable and relaxed," said a senior teacher of her school.
That girl her next exam, economics, on March 18 and her school and well-wishers have been keeping their fingers crossed that she can conquer her fears and take the exam with confidence.
Counsellors and principals of other schools said this could be a wonderful example for other students, especially those who are stressed with exams. Psychotherapist Minu Budhia said: "Students and parents should come out from too much expectations. Students should only focus on the exam. And parents shouldn't set a goal for their children to achieve, but aim to build up their confidence."
DAV Public School principal Vijaylakshmi Kumar said: "Students should understand that they have plenty of options if they fear a particular subject. We keep telling our students not to be too much pressured over exams."