The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced two major initiatives, which will help students in facing everyday problems that they encounter in their lives. Firstly, the Board has requested all affiliated schools to impart self-defense training to girl students. Secondly, it has launched a helpline for their students to fight stress and anxiety during the board examination. The second initiative is crucial from the point of the prevailing competitive atmosphere which demands students to learn a lot and perform even better.
Self-defence Training for Girls
The central board has suggested of providing special training to girl students in classes one to ten equipping them with self defense strategies, so that they can protect themselves from premeditated violence or abuse. The board is planning to roll out the training in two phases. In the first phase, there will be a weeklong programme where experts will be teaching the basics of self-defence. This is going to be followed by the second phase, which is more about regularly practicing and upgrading the skills of the students. At a time, when women’s safety is a matter of deep concern, such an initiative taken by CBSE will certainly prove to be helpful for the girl students who are studying in CBSE affiliated schools.
Telephonic Counselling Session
The board has introduced an annual counselling session for their students to help them deal with stress and anxiety related issues during the board examinations. Students can dial toll free number 1800 11 8004 from anywhere in the country and sort out their problems by talking to trained counsellors and psychologists. This service will be operational from 8 am to 10 pm starting from February 1 to April 22. Counselling will be available to differently abled children as well. For online counselling, students can mail their queries regarding counselling to cecbse@gmail.com andsugandh.cbse@gmail.com.
Examination stress and anxiety have been a worrying issue for children these days. Peer pressure and competition take a big toll on them. As a result, we see suicides among students on the rise. According to a 2013 report, failure in examination formed a huge chunk of the 2471 suicides among 15-29. The decision taken by the board to counsel the students can prove to be successful in dealing with their mental and emotional problems.
The Logical Indian appreciates the initiatives taken up by CBSE to support school children struggling with real-life problems. We appeal to schools other than those affiliated to CBSE to replicate these initiatives for the benefit of the larger student community.
