Kuwaiti students overcome odds

The real achievers of the 2003 Board exams of the Central Board of Secondary Examinations (CBSE) are the class X and class XII students of Kuwait. They have come out with flying colours despite the America-Iraq war which was happening during their exams. There are 83 CBSE schools situated abroad out of which 72 schools are in Gulf countries. There are in total nine CBSE schools in Kuwait, from which 957 candidates appeared for class X exams and 675 appeared for class XII exams, this year.In a telephonic interview, the principal, Indian Central School, Kuwait, Asha Sharma says, "The overall good results of the students despite the war depicts the tremendous amount of mental courage, coping abilities and challenge-taking attitude of the students." Board exams have always played a crucial role in a student's life. A student Shikha Dhupar based in Kuwait, remarks, "It was our first Board exam and the war added to our tensions. The overall situation was quite depressing. I was unable to concentrate properly on my studies which has affected my results." The examinations were conducted amidst the sounds of siren, bombing, firing, and hue and cry of people in neighbouring Iraq. All this created a tense and frightening situation for the students. Sharma says, "The class X students were more affected as they are young and were appearing for the Board exams for the first time." With the outbreak of war, the Indian Embassy in Kuwait, the Education Ministry and the CBSE, among others geared up to provide the best support system to the students. There were facilities for tele-counselling and assurance of full police security at the centres as well as in the special school buses. CBSE moreover, gave the option of choosing alternate centres in India. The controller of examinations, CBSE, Pavnesh Kumar says, "Initially there were a lot of requests to appear for exams from India. Later students acted courageously and most of them sat for the exams from the centres in Kuwait."In total 35 students from Kuwait appeared for exams from centres in Chennai, Ajmer and Allahabad. The results witnessed a decrease in the overall pass percentage as compared to last year. The overall pass percentage abroad in class XII is 90.3 per cent out of which the pass percentage in Kuwait is 89.29 per cent. The pass percentage of class X is 91.93 out of which the pass percentage in Kuwait is 89.29 per cent. Another student Ravandeep Singh remarks, "It was impossible to concentrate on studies during the war. There was so much happening outside and one just cannot close one's eyes, ears and mind to it. It did affect our performance to a great extent and I think CBSE should have been lenient in checking our papers." Speaking on the same lines, a parent Amarjeet Singh of a Kauwaiti Indian student, says, "Board exams are a lifetime's opportunity and the war has affected the future of the students as the expected percentages have not been achieved by our children. As Kuwait does not have offer scope for higher education, most of the students move out to other countries. The question now is whether colleges in India will consider these students from Kuwait. Kumar says, "War cannot be the sole excuse for the performance downfall of students." However, Sharma insists, "Colleges should consider the mental trauma these students had to undergo."