THE START OF THE BOARD EXAMS

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Vedantu

The ISC board examinations have begun. Today was English Language and as our children trooped in, we sensed a hint of trepidation within them even as they tried to mask it. We could not blame them. Even Valentine’s Day had moved away into the recesses of their minds. After all, this was the culmination of two years of hard work, in many cases, and a dogged belief in luck and destiny for a few others.

Even though we had terminal  and model examinations for them, this was a different scenario altogether, with external supervisors and invigilators who are not their present teachers. As we had a prayer before we started outside the exam hall, and a few mandatory instructions, we could see the tension in their eyes, the anxiety about the three hours ahead when they would get one chance to crack the paper. As they walked in, we wished them from deep within our hearts, our little ones going into their first major challenge in life.

                                                                                                        Pinterest

Filling in their details on the answer paper must also have been nerve-wracking. Once they were all in, the doors shut after them, and the next three hours stretched out before us. Till last year, the concerned subject teachers were given a glimpse of the question paper after half an hour or so, but this time it looked as though we would have to wait till they finished writing.

There are CCTV cameras in the Principal’s office and the Administrator’s from where we could watch the children sitting, bent over their desks, writing animatedly and straightening their backs, now and then. One boy gave us the jitters as he stopped writing and took his own sweet time to begin again. For a while, he made doodles, or so it seemed, on the edge of his sheet, then scratched his head and stared at his pen, and then took to doodling again. Since the Language paper is one where there is no scope for textbook study, and based mostly on creativity, maybe he was trying to kick-start his ideas before he put them down on paper. After about ten minutes, he began to write, much to our relief.

At around 5.30 pm, we managed to get the question paper from an online Whatsapp group. Much to our delight, it seemed straightforward enough, given the intensive training our teachers had given the children. When the teacher remarked about the first student, a girl coming out of the hall, hopping and skipping with a big smile, that set the mood for us to heave a sigh of relief and uncross our crossed fingers. 

Well begun is half done, as the saying goes, and as the months of February and March go by, more and more prayers will go up, like wisps of smoke towards the heavens, as blessings surround our children like fragrant incense.

 As I write this post, my good wishes go out to children across the country who are writing their Board examinations. As Tiny Tim remarked in A Christmas Carol,

“God bless us every one!”

Charles Dickens info

520 words

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