Say YES to Self Study and NO to Subject Guides

Time is running out fast and students are now trying to find ways of making last-minute preparations for the Board exams.

Of the various resource material that they have been tapping in to, subject guides have emerged as the most convenient way to prepare for the Boards.

“There is very little time left for the exams and there are some subjects which require a lot of note-making. For last-minute preparations, I'm going through some of the guides for subjects such as Business Studies because the answers in them are readymade and not very different from the ones that we are required to write,“ said a student of Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai.

Students have been referring to the likes of the Together series and U-Like, which provide model answers that they use during the exams.

Other guides and reference material such as Oxford and BBC for English provide answers to questions for all lessons.

Bookstore owners, too, have claimed that the month preceding the Board exams has seen an upward spiral in the sale of guides and reference books for several subjects.

“Over the last one month, I have recorded maximum sales for guides in English and Business Studies. Some guides in Accountancy, such as Tulsian, have also witnessed high sales. But sales are still the highest for the U-Like and Together series because they are among the best in the market,“ said a shopkeeper at a bookstore in Kalkaji.

However, principals and teachers are all but encouraging, claiming that guides have become a recourse for students who have shied away from consistent study throughout the year.

“Students tend to take a shortcut by studying from guides and it is not something that we encourage. Students who have been studying regularly do need to use guides because they rely on their own notes,“ said Usha Ram, principal, Laxman Public School.

The only advantage that guides provide are the solutions to the previous years' exam papers -something that students can gloss through after their preparation is over.

“The only benefit that the guides provide is the solutions to the past years' papers and the solved CBSE Board exam papers that students refer to. But they must try to do as much self-study as they can and not rely on these guides,“ added Ram.

Source: Hindustantimes