This story is from February 12, 2020

UP Board Exams 2020: Expert help at hand for students facing exam stress

With just a week left for UP Board exams to begin, a team of five, including three academicians, a doctor, and a technical expert, are carrying out a "Mai Taiyyar Hoon" campaign and have been touring various districts and counselling students in government schools and giving tips on how not to battle stress before, during and after exams.
UP Board Exams 2020: Expert help at hand for students facing exam stress
LUCKNOW: If you find your child becoming excessively nervous before impending exams, chances are that it may be a result of 'testophobia' - fear of examination. But, you don't need to fret; a group of people, who themselves experienced tremendous pressure due to exam phobia, have come together to help board examinees.
With just a week left for UP Board exams to begin, a team of five, including three academicians, a doctor, and a technical expert, are carrying out a "Mai Taiyyar Hoon" campaign and have been touring various districts and counselling students in government schools and giving tips on how not to battle stress before, during and after exams.

So far, the team has covered 75 government schools in five districts, including Lucknow, Amethi, Barabanki, Sultanpur and Pratapgarh.
"We want to reach out to maximum students. In Hindi, 'pariksha' means something to do with someone's wish, which creates fear among students. We conduct sessions for students and encourage to take exams with a positive mind set," said Manoj Mishra, a PhD in management.
"Students fear in communicating their anxieties with their parents since they end up drawing a comparison with other children who scored high. Besides, peer pressure increases anxiety and leads to disastrous consequences," said Shivanand Pandey, a post graduate in History and Hindi.
During our sessions, examinees shared their worries, doubts and sometimes simply vent out their emotions. And the team is not restricting it to conducting counselling sessions just before the exam, but aim to ease pressure students face while entering examination centre by putting up a hoarding saying, 'Welcome to stress-free examination centre.'
Joint director, secondary education, Vikas Srivastava said, "Even when students have studied hard and made good preparation, they are worried about performing well in exam. Such counselling sessions are a boon for students."
The team has also issued helpline numbers - 7500696123 and 8009799029 - to help students deal with board exam-related stress.
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