Can a single day of fun de-stress students for the whole year? Major coaching classes in Kota collaborated for a day to organise a ‘Fun Day’ event last Saturday for its students. The directive which came from the District Collector was aimed to organise myriad activities for coaching class students. Some students in Kota coaching classes describe their daily study schedule as bustling and stressful, leaving them negligent amount of self-time. But what is more startling is the idea of one evening of activities relieving a yearlong of stress.
Some of the students who attended the ‘Fun Day’ in Kota said they were content with the initiative taken by their teachers. However, couple of hours of outdoor activities rejuvenating a student for the entire year of study is debatable. If yoga or sports are so effective for student stress, is it possible for the coaching classes to include them in the daily activities? Mrs H Desai, a yoga guru at The Yoga Institute, Mumbai, says, “Any activity performed regularly for several hours a day can be a cause of stress. Adolescents should ideally switch between different activities like study, sports, yoga, creativity, etc. throughout the day. That makes the brain more versatile. However, switching to a different activity just once a year can on the contrary prove to be tiring.
Besides, a student named Sanam from Allen Coaching Institute, says, “We can’t always depend on the institute to organise fun activities for us. It is afterall a study centre. The Fun Day was like a one-time event. You cannot possibly energise yourself for the entire year through one event.” Contrary to that, Pankaj Birla, MD, Allen Coaching Classes, Kota, says, “We have several other activities conducted throughout the year. All such activities like Sports Week, yoga, are organised at the institute level.”
According to some of the major coaching institutes, students are given only one day off in the week from study and lectures (mostly Sundays). However, when the institute organises outdoor or recreational activities, it is not part of the students’ curriculum. These activities usually take place on Sunday, hence they are left with no time to indulge in peripheral activities not arranged by the institute.