A little over a decade ago, I spent sleepless nights over a Maths paper the next day or some other heavy Physics syllabus that is of absolutely no use to me today.

Gain control on exam fever

A little over a decade ago, I spent sleepless nights over a Maths paper the next day or some other heavy Physics syllabus that is of absolutely no use to me today. It seemed like zero heartbeat the time the bell sounded and I had to hand in all my sheets tied together with a piece of string.

Just a few minutes before, the heart raced everytime someone else I knew in the hall had taken an extra sheet of paper and I saw that the tips of my fingers had turned blue where the ink from the nib had overflowed. I was scared I would ruin the paper.

Years on, some things might have changed. Kids are allowed to use ballpoint pens. That's the only difference I can think of, really. Exams show no sign of bettering the academic output of a student.

We now have child psychologists doling out advice to parents and students to loosen up and let go

Which is why my 12-year-old niece and I rejoiced when Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal, announced last year that he had plans to do away with Board exams. "I hope it happens by the time I get to class X," piped my niece, who luckily for her, doesn't face half the pressure that I did in the South.

Madras (now Chennai), where I did my schooling, continues to be the country's 'nerd capital'. There was little or no room for any sort of recreation three months ahead of the Boards or what we called revision time.

Considering Chennai is also one of the biggest cultural metros of the country with schools teeming with Carnatic musicians or Bharatnatyam dancers, this was a real shame.

I'm sure if folks at home let me chill for an hour listening to the music I loved or even with a book that was out-of-syllabus, it would have made a huge difference to my life.

But no, here I was cramming all the last-minute chapters and adding extra lessons from guide books (which were a rage during my HSC time) and driving myself up the wall with information overload.

Year after year, Indian kids go through this agonising drill. This, inspite of the fact that we now have child psychologists doling out advice to parents and students to loosen up and let go.

Do yourselves a favour. Get your foot off the pedal. Let kids be.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels