Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 29 (IANS) Anxious parents and nervous children were making last-minute preparations Friday as over 1.3 million students are set to appear for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations for both Classes 10 and 12 that begin Saturday. The Class 12 examinations start off with the chemistry paper, while Class 10 begins with Elementary Business.

Shivi Sharma, Class 12 student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, said she was very nervous and stressed out before the exams.

“I am down with fever and severe headache for the past three-four days. I’m taking medicines but none of them is having any effect,” Shivi told IANS.

She said she was so stressed out that she was finding it difficult to remember days and dates. “Nowadays, I don’t remember the date and time and I’m continuously busy revising the whole syllabus.”

This year a total of 1.31 million students will sit for the board exams - 765,095 of Class 10 and 548,815 of Class 12.

Last year, 705,152 candidates appeared for Class 10 examinations both in India and abroad while 502,688 students took the Class 12 exams.

Class 10 students from 8,199 schools will take the examinations in 2,624 centres. Similarly, Class 12 students from 5,171 schools will write their papers across 2,394 centres both in India and abroad.

Speaking about managing stress and eating right, Jyoti Arora, head of the department of nutrients and dietics at Paras Hospitals, said parents should give due care to their wards’ food intake.

“Try to provide a diet which brings energy and keeps away lethargic mood.

“Mix carbohydrates with lot of fluids. Students should not eat in bulk and go for junk foods like burgers and creamy pastas,” she stressed.

This year the CBSE has redesigned the question paper for all major subjects like mathematics, science, English, and social sciences. The new design includes about 10 percent of very short sample questions and about 20 percent questions on High Order Thinking Skills (HOTS).