In 2019, students who wrote the Plus Two exams in March had to wait for less than a month before the results were announced mid-April. This year, however, things have been very different.

Even as a national lockdown was enforced to check the spread of COVID-19, Tamil Nadu students were writing their last board exam.

“It has been a long wait for us,” said K.B. Sirajudeen, a student of Everwin Matriculation School.

Many changes

Students like him have had a gap of over three months, which has brought about many changes and some re-thinking of decisions on their higher studies.

“While I had initially decided to write the JEE, I decided to wait for the results and apply for the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions counselling instead,” he said.

For Gayathri Thejusee, the long gap has meant being able to devote time to prepare for the NEET.

“I enrolled in a summer crash course for medical entrance only after my board exams. I thought I would have only a month in between,” she said.

Sujitha, a student of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, MGR Nagar, said that while the last three months had been uncertain, she spent her time reading up and exploring her interest in animation.

“I’ve got 528 marks and hope to pursue computer applications. Many of us were waiting for the results to begin applying for colleges,” she said.

For many government school students in smaller districts, teachers say there is a dire need for guidance in what to do next and sensitise them on the options available, especially since schools remained shut and there had been nearly no student-teacher interaction in the last three months.

Need for guidance

“The State government should rope in PG subject teachers at the taluk level and bring in educationalists and NGOs to offer career guidance for these students. We feel that the marks for students in rural areas have gone down this year, and they may have some concerns over what to do next,” said K.P.O. Suresh, president of the Tamil Nadu Post Graduate Teachers Association.

Given the current situation and the restrictions put in place in view of the pandemic, Mr. Suresh suggested that students be given the contact numbers of senior teachers and Education Department officials in each district, who can help them in the online application process, too.