Examination blues: Students flood PU helpline for counselling

The helpline set up by the state pre-university department was flooded with calls on the opening day itself.

The department began helpline operations for this year from Monday. The helpline number was active from 11 am and from that minute, officials and experts had to answer the calls continuously till 5 pm. About 480 calls were received from several students.

According to department officials who answered the queries, majority of calls were from rural students. “Most of the calls we answered today (Monday) were from rural students. Of that, majority were from North Karnataka region,” said an official.

Along with department officials, experts and counsellors from Nimhans also counselled the anxious students. “Majority of the students whom we spoke to were nervous about the exams which they are going to attempt from March 17,” said a psychiatrist from Nimhans.

“The call, which we are receiving, shows how nervous our students are about the exams. Some say they are depressed and not able to understand what they read. This is where they need our help and we need to counsel them,” said a counsellor.