Ruchi Chabra
ruchildin@gmail.com
The Reality of Examinations in India
Examinations occupy a powerful place in the Indian education system. Marks and marksheets matter. They influence opportunities, admissions, and academic pathways, and ignoring this reality serves no one. However, when marks become the sole measure of worth, learning begins to shrink and anxiety quietly takes over.
Exams are never designed to defeat children or turn learning into fear. At their best, they act as mirrors, reflecting preparation, consistency, discipline, and the relationship a learner has built with knowledge over time. They show where a student stands at a particular moment, not who the student is as a person.
What Examinations Teach Students
For students, board examinations are often the first real lessons in responsibility. They demand independent planning, time management, focus amid distractions, and honest self-assessment. These skills are as valuable as academic knowledge and remain relevant long after examinations are over.
Learning does not occur only through textbooks. It grows through classroom interactions, discussions with peers, revision strategies, mistakes, and reflection. A paper that does not go as planned is not failure; it is feedback. How students respond to that feedback shapes resilience far more deeply than marks alone.
The Role of Parents During the Examination Phase
For parents, this phase calls for a realistic approach. Their expectations matter, but their support during this phase matters more. Calm reassurance, avoiding comparisons, and trusting the child’s preparation will help students face exams with confidence.
Setting goals is important, but children also need space to take responsibility for their effort and results. Growth comes through guidance and trust, not constant control.
Stress grows when children face high pressure, constant comparisons, and fear of results. Parents and teachers must protect them from this.
Discipline, Integrity, and Self-Awareness
Discipline during examinations is often misunderstood. It is not meant to frighten students into obedience. It works better when it comes from self-respect. Over time, students learn what they can do well, where they struggle, and how to deal with both. This understanding stays with them long after the exams are over.
Examinations are not a battlefield. There are no enemies to defeat. They are more like mirrors. They quietly reflect habits, effort, and attention. Students do not need armour to face them. A clear head, steady work, and some faith in their preparation usually do the job.
Marksheets open a few doors, especially in the beginning. What happens after that depends on other things. Character, discipline, and the ability to stay balanced matter more than most people admit. When fear steps aside and responsibility takes its place, examinations stop being a source of anxiety and start becoming a useful experience.
Healthy Habits for Exam Readiness
Students are advised to plan their preparation well in advance and avoid last-minute panic. Regular revision, practice through sample papers, and focusing on conceptual understanding rather than rote learning help build confidence. The day before the examination should be reserved for light revision and mental readiness, not intensive study.
Adequate sleep is essential. Students should ensure 7-8 hours of restful sleep before an examination, as an alert and rested mind performs better than an exhausted one. Late-night studying should be avoided.
Students should consume simple, nutritious, and easily digestible food. Heavy, oily, or unfamiliar food should be avoided. Drinking sufficient water is important, though excessive intake just before the examination should be avoided to prevent discomfort.
On the day of the examination, students should leave home well in time to avoid unnecessary anxiety. All required documents and stationery should be kept ready the previous night. Students are advised to remain calm, avoid last-minute discussions, and focus on their own preparation.
During the examination, students should read the question paper carefully, manage time wisely, write neatly, and reserve time for revision before submission. Above all, examinations should be viewed as part of the learning journey. Confidence, honesty, discipline, and self-belief matter far more than any single result.
Advisory for Students Appearing in CBSE Board Examinations – 2026
As the CBSE Board Examinations 2026 approach, all students are advised to carefully read and strictly adhere to the following instructions to ensure a smooth, disciplined, and stress-free examination experience.
The name and address of the Exam Centre will be informed to students over time separately in the Admit Card. The admit card is more than a pass to the examination hall. Students and parents should take a few minutes to read it carefully. The child’s name, roll number, photograph, subjects, examination dates, timings, and examination centre should be checked for accuracy. Any discrepancy must be reported immediately through the school.
Parents should ensure that the admit card is signed wherever required and kept safely until the examinations are over. Students should carry it to the examination centre every day, along with their school identity card. A calm review of the admit card in advance avoids unnecessary confusion and last-minute anxiety on the day of the examination.
Students must report to the examination centre latest by 10:00 AM (IST). Entry will not be permitted after this time under any circumstances. The examination will commence at 10:30 AM (IST). Students are advised to carefully check the CBSE date sheet for correct dates and subject-wise timings.
Timely reporting is compulsory. Leaving the examination centre before completion of the paper is strictly prohibited. Students must appear in their regular winter school uniform and maintain a neat and decent turnout, including well-groomed hair, trimmed nails, and clean, well-polished school shoes. The CBSE Admit Card duly signed by parents and the School Identity Card must be carried to the Exam Centre without fail.
Only permitted stationery items may be carried in a transparent pouch. These include blue or royal blue ball point, gel, or fountain pens, pencils, erasers, scales, sharpeners, and geometry instruments. Colours and brushes may be carried where applicable. Mobile phones and all electronic or electrical devices are strictly prohibited inside the examination centre.
Students must strictly follow the instructions of invigilators, particularly while filling in roll numbers and other particulars in the answer book. Students are expected to maintain complete honesty during the examination. The use of unfair means is strictly prohibited. As per CBSE policy, all examination centres are under continuous CCTV monitoring to ensure fairness. Any violation observed through surveillance or otherwise will be treated as Unfair Means (UFM) and dealt with strictly as per CBSE rules.
Further, creation or circulation of fake videos, messages, rumours, or misleading information related to examinations, especially on social media, is forbidden.
In case of any ambiguity in the question paper, the matter will be resolved by CBSE as per its policy. Students must ensure that the correct question paper set is clearly mentioned in both the answer book and the attendance sheet.
As per the CBSE Circular dated 09 December 2025, the Class X Science paper is divided into Biology, Chemistry, and Physics sections, while Social Science consists of History, Geography, Political Science, and Economics. Students must divide their answer books accordingly and write answers only in the designated sections. Mixing of sections is strictly prohibited. Answers written in the wrong section will not be evaluated and no marks will be awarded.
After the Bell Rings
In the end, examinations do not judge character, nor do they predict the future. They simply record a moment in time. How students prepare for them, how families respond to them, and how calmly they are faced often matter more than the final numbers on the page. When exams are seen not as battles to be won but as mirrors to look into, they lose much of their power to frighten and gain something far more useful, which is their ability to teach. They stop being battlefields of fear and become mirrors of preparation, discipline, and well-being And somewhere beneath the syllabus and schedules, the steady guidance of parents, teachers, and one’s own inner voice does the real work.
(The writer is Principal, DPS Jammu)
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