Indrani Singh, principal of ADLS School, with her students in Jamshedpur. (Bhola Prasad)

Jamshedpur, Aug. 16: A student of ADLS Sunshine School went into depression after appearing for the first paper in the ISC examination this year, and decided not to appear for the rest of her papers. But with regular counselling from school principal Indrani Singh, she got motivation to appear for the board exam and went on to score a creditable 79 per cent.

A student of Kerala Samajam Model School (KSMS) decided to quit school after he failed in Class XI. But after constant counselling by school principal Nandini Shukla, the boy started attending classes regularly again.

Principal authority or principal buddy? New-age school principals in the steel city are now donning the avatar of counsellors, always ready to lend a patient ear to the problems of youngsters.

“I could not concentrate on my studies. So I spoke to my maths teacher who suggested I speak to our principal. Counselling sessions with her helped me concentrate on my studies,” said a class XII student of ADLS Sunshine School.

“Times have changed and it is necessary to help students with their problems. So principals must create an accessible environment. I have kept an open-door policy for students and parents. If there is a problem, they can come to me anytime,” said Singh, principal of ADLS School.

Principals are also becoming the refuge of troubled parents. “Though most parents feel their ward must be a high scorer, we tell them to accept their child if she or he happens to be a slow learner. Apart from personal counselling, we tell our students there is nothing wrong in not succeeding in an exam,” said KSMS principal Shukla.

And this feeling is echoed by most schools. Gulmohur High School and DBMS English School offer counselling to their students while Loyola School has a professional counsellor to help students overcome problems and concentrate on goals. Teachers at KSMS have also undergone a skills and adolescents class through Lion’s Club to understand children psychology and also identify problems.

Principals say the most common student problems are fear of failure, parental pressure, lack of concentration and adolescent heartaches. Principals and teachers have to continuously boost the confidence levels of students.

Adds Rajani Shekhar, principal of DBMS English School, “We often have hyperactive and rebellious students. Infatuation is a common distraction. We make them understand the outcome of their choices.” Yoga and meditation are suggested for hypersensitive and hyperactive children.