Hyderabad: Fly in an airplane or win a smartphone — these are not festival offers by e-commerce platforms or stores, or poll promises by candidates, but incentives announced by collectors to class 10 students, who are on the last leg of preparations for SSC public examinations, which are scheduled to begin from March 21.
Psychologists say such ‘big rewards‘ often misfire and will have a negative impact on studies as students take undue pressure to get the rewards and end up performing poorly. They said reinforcements should always be small and continuous so children remain on track and concentrate on their studies.
“When someone promises to buy big things — mobile phones or bikes, children take way too much pressure as they want to succeed at any cost. A fear also creeps in them that they might never get possession of it if they fail to meet the expectations of their parents or other elders. This fear and anxiety will make them nervous, forget answers, and be unable to concentrate, which will all have a negative impact on their performance,” said Anitha Are, a clinical psychologist, adding that students might also take extreme step out of frustration.
She said it would rather be helpful if rewards such as buying ice cream, taking them out for a movie or ride are offered at regular intervals, once a week or after completing a few chapters, so that they will remain continuously motivated. “After the results, they can be surprised with a big gift, but it should not be announced beforehand,” she added.
Teachers and parents said that at a time when the number of children dying by suicide is on the rise, such announcements, especially hardly a month before exams, created unnecessary pressure on parents.
Collectors, meanwhile, defended these moves. They said it’s all about how the message is conveyed to students. “We always concentrate on hard work and effort, but not on results or marks. When I told children that I would buy mobile phones for toppers, it was just announced as an incentive but was not highlighted. While talking to them, I ensured that the message is conveyed to students that marks are not everything ,” said Badavath Santhosh, collector, Nagarkurnool.
Teachers and parents said that at a time when the number of children dying by suicide is on the rise, such announcements created unnecessary pressure on parents
