By Doorva Asthana | On Thu Jun 9, 2022 | 10.42 pm IST | Prior to the result declaration, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHE) announced that it will provide counselling to students for 8 days from 8 am to 8 pm, making it the first state in history of India to do so.
Passing through the trying path of appearing for board exams in the dangerous conditions presented by the pandemic and extreme heat, after long, students have fared glorious. This can be clearly derived from the results produced by the students of MSBSHE.
Despite of being away from school for the better part of the year, 1,356,604 students have cleared Class 12 exams and the passing percentage of all streams is above 90%.
Behind such success however, was the uglier part of preparing for exams while keeping up with distance education, which, not every student could avail. To help with this, the MSBSHE has been providing free counselling to students through helpline numbers which will also be available post the result declaration.
Maharashtra Government’s Minister of School Education, Varsha Gaikwad has been proactively interacting with the students as well. On June 7th, she also, shared trustable sources for results and posted a series of encouraging tweets for the students.
But why is it the education board that provides help?
Most of the Indian population still treats mental health as a privy subject regardless of how relevant it has become.
Studies have found that present day high school students present with as much anxiety as asylum patients did in the 1950s and despite the increasing pressure, students are expected to bear it without help because “it’s nothing new, there is no need to kick up a fuss”.
This “fuss”, however is far more dangerous than a tantrum. A study conducted by WHO finds that 1 in 7 adolescents deal with mental health issues most of which largely untreated. This leads not only to reduced productivity but is also detrimental for physical health in the long run.
Many people find it shameful to visit a therapist but perhaps, making a call to the education board is fine which is what fulfils the purpose of it. Introduction of more such helplines will only prove fruitful.
For anyone who might need help, here are some helplines that are free and can be accessed in any language.
080 2572 2573
+91 901 9708133
1800 599 0019
