Bhubaneswar, April 14: The intermediate (Class XII) examinations might have come to an end but “testing times” continue for thousands of students who are busy preparing or appearing for various competitive examinations.
The grind began last Sunday with the IIT-JEE examinations where more than 40,000 students across the state took the test.
With many more tests lined up for at least the next two months, the students are burning the midnight oil. “I kept away from books only for the cricket World Cup final. After that it was back to books,” said Pratiksha Mishra, an IIT aspirant.
“I have been preparing hard for the entrance examinations soon after my Class X examinations got over. It has been two years and it seems never-ending. We are just like cricketers who are taking on one tournament after another without a break. I will appear for the IIT-JEE exams this Sunday and there are more tests to follow,” said 17-year-old Pratiksha.
Apart from entrance exams for engineering courses, many students are also aiming at bachelor courses in pharmacy, medical, architecture, law, computer application, journalism, animation and business administration.
“This is my career building phase and I am trying my best to make it to a top journalism college of the country. But I must agree that students preparing for engineering and medical science entrance exams are toiling the most,” said another student, Saishree Pradhan.
Others are flocking to coaching institutes for last minute doubt-clearing sessions. “There have been regular mock tests at our coaching centre to acquaint us with the pattern and help us solve the questions faster. I am also going through some probable questions and materials provided by the centre,” said Preetam Patnaik who wishes to pursue an MBBS degree.
It is a competitive world and parents can only watch their children take back-to-back tests.
“It is frightening how the competition is increasing day by day. I wish they had more time to prepare for the entrance tests after their Class XII board exams got over. As parents, we can only encourage our children and ensure that they are not stressed out,” said Kailash Chandra Sahoo, father of an aspiring candidate for IIT.
