Remembering old school days

Amidst the rise in COVID-19 cases, several states including Goa have cancelled class 10 board exams, which means these students will miss their first experience of writing the board exams. Looking back at the good old days, a few youngsters share some of the things they have experienced during their board exam days with, NT KURIOCITY

Class 10 seems to be the first step towards your dreams which makes it all the more important to score well in order to get the subject you want in further classes. My class 10th boards experience was amazing. I enjoyed and absorbed the whole process. The exams make you mentally strong and calm by conquering the exam stress and tension. Actually, once you have successfully faced and passed the class 10 board exams you will find yourself able to face bigger and tougher exams fearlessly. You will learn how to manage time, stress and give your best under pressure. Before the exam everyone was telling me that board exams are tough and you need to study hard to get through with good grades, but let me tell you something, I was that kind of a kid who just studied one month before the exams and I would advise that everyone should start studying from day one itself as it always helps in the long run. I was concerned about how my exams would go but when I sat in the examination hall, I kept myself calm and saw the paper. It seemed easy to answer and I secured a pretty good score.

Gautami G Mahale Purohit, DCT’s Vasantrao Dempo Higher Secondary School of Arts Science and Commerce, Cujira

I had appeared for the SSC Board Exams in 2015. I remember I was excited and a bit tense from the very day I got my hall ticket. Like every other student who was appearing for the board exam for the first time, I also had mixed emotions from the things I had heard, read from friends, relatives, etc. Students are a bit pressurised and tense as everybody, from our relatives and friends have good expectations for us to do well. Board exams are considered as one of the turning points in our life because it is considered as the first stepping stone for the betterment of our life. As students practically appearing for board exams we get a lifetime experience and exposure,and we learn a lot of things in life. So due to this pandemic the students who are unable to appear for 10^th boards will miss out on an important phase of their lives.

Sanjana R Kamat, VVM’s Shree Damodar College Of Commerce & Economics, Margao

SSC board examination is like a dress rehearsal which prepares us for the final show which can be compared to the class 12th board examination. But this year students didn’t get the opportunity. It’s terribly unfair as they must have studied a lot and worked really hard and now everything depends on the internal marks and some mustn’t have given their best and must have sought to redeem themselves in the board exam. Six years ago, when I was in class 10, I vividly remember the armed personnel patrolling the halls while we answered our exam, which made us feel important. A common sentiment shared by many SSC students is the friends that become family during the final year of school. I remember how we used to huddle in a group before the exams, revising our answers and testing each other. Also anticipating the results was certainly the biggest and last phase of SSC life. During this time there were a lot of prayers being offered to God. A lot of consoling of friends and reassuring each other that we will pass. Collection of report cards from school was the last time I met the rest of my class. This will be imprinted in my memory forever. COVID-19 has snatched from these students the sense of accomplishment associated with answering their final examinations and estranged them from solidifying the lifelong camaraderie they might have shared with their fellow classmates.

Lizanne Fernandes, Agnel Institute of Technology and Design, Assagao