The anxiety over COVID-19 is playing out at the help desk set up by the Directorate of General Education (DGE) for assuaging concerns of students appearing for higher secondary exams.
We Help, the help desk set up by the Career Guidance and Adolescent Counselling Cell under the Higher Secondary wing of the General Education Department, for the fifth consecutive year has so far received over 500 calls from students and parents.
“Apart from the usual calls triggered by exam anxiety, this time we received a few calls related to COVID-19 as well. Though rarely, there were calls from quarantined parents seeking clarity about sending their children for exams,” said C.M. Azeem, State coordinator, Career Guidance and Adolescent Counselling Cell.
Exam postponement
While some were anxious about likely postponement of exams following COVID-19 and its impact on entrance exams, a few were concerned about their disturbed vacation plans.
Teachers deployed
Besides, the DGE deployed two trained teachers to the COVID-19 desk at the Thiruvananthapuram collectorate after doctors there started getting calls from anxious parents and children about exams.
A team of ten teachers drawn from a pool of 300-odd teachers who received advanced training in counselling has been deployed at the exam help desk.
“More than the number of calls, the focus is on spending quality time helping out students in need of help. Some calls even extend beyond an hour while some callers keep on calling on consecutive days. There was this highly anxious student who called for two or three days seeking help,” said Mr. Azeem.
The help desk service will be available between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. It will run till March 28, when the exams will conclude.
