Students crumbling under exam-pressure

New Delhi, March 6: Examination stress is taking its toll on the health of children, who are popping memory-enhancing pills, smoking, eating junk food and trying every other possible way of staying ahead in the academic race.

A new study reveals that 30 percent of students from Class 9 to 12 resort to cheating because of competitive pressure and fear of failure. Surprisingly, even a higher percentage of exam-giving students seek relaxation in chatting with friends on the computer, which actually works reverse and causes more exhaustion.

Dr. Samir Parikh, an eminent psychiatrist, conducted the study in 20 schools across Delhi and the neighboring towns of Gurgaon and Noida.

Students are almost crumbling under the pressure from parents and teachers, who keep pushing them to perform well.

"Instead of a supportive environment that is needed to help make students feel calm and relaxed, there is a tendency by teachers and parents to constantly prod them. It places excessive pressure on them to perform," said Parikh, chief of the mental health and behavioral science department at Max Healthcare in South Delhi.

The study involved 944 boys and 1,056 girls. As many as 76 percent of girls and 74 percent of boys said their parents and teachers pressurize them to work harder and longer than they do. Almost 40 percent of them gulp down cups of tea or coffee to keep the midnight oil burning.

37 percent of girls and 36 percent of boys said they constantly feel the need to know about their peers and keep calling them every few hours to find out about their preparation. Some take to the computer and chat through the night, simultaneously flipping the pages of their books.

Most kids ignore their break-time while preparing, the few minutes that they take off books are spent in front of the screen, leading to a greater fatigue.

20 to 30 percent of students in the study said they are so worried about their exam scores that they feel tempted to cheat. "The temptations are there because they have this fear that they might disappoint their parents and teachers. Also, they don't want to be laughed at," Parikh said.

Five percent of girls and seven percent of boys also admitted taking medication to improve their memory.

Also, nutrition is largely compromised during exams. Many students “feel pressurized to study and do not want to waste study time in eating proper food and prefer to snack without giving due regard to the negative consequences it might have for their health," Parikh said.

This makes the students feel lethargic and tired all the time.