Exam stress returns after pandemic restrictions

As Covid-19 restrictions are coming to an end, so is online learning for the students of the North-West University (NWU).

The majority of students have not written sit-down exams since the introduction of the online learning environment due to Covid-19 restrictions. This, however, has come to an end for many, as NWU students have officially started writing sit-down exams on Monday, 6 June 2022.

According to Harvard Gazette, even though students suffered from a lot of stress during the pandemic, returning to campus has caused even more stress for many. Not only the stress of keeping up with performing well academically, but also with living away from home, hostel activities, as well as social events.

Harvard Gazette wrote that many students had become so used to online learning that the sudden return to contact learning and sit-down exams is causing more students to experience symptoms of depression. Students often feel extremely tired and unmotivated, they lose sleep and turn to substances such as alcohol and marijuana for relief.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), burnout is defined as an occupational phenomenon, but not a medical condition. “It is a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” according to the WHO.

Dr Thalytha Louw Swanepoel, a lecturer at the NWU’s School of Communication, said that the biggest problem students have is that they do not properly manage their time. “Students who do not plan, try to cram everything in at the last minute, which causes more stress,” said Louw Swanepoel. She said that this is the reason why lecturers then get blamed for the student’s stress.

Carel Erasmus (22), a fourth-year BCom law student at the NWU, said that he has become so accustomed to online learning in the last few years, that it has become harder to step back into face-to-face academic learning. “One has gotten so comfortable with online learning that we don’t know how to properly prepare for sit-down exams anymore,” Erasmus said.

Erasmus said that the main thing that is making him feel burnt out is the amount of work they have to study for a single exam. “Having to cram an overwhelming amount of information into my head, as well as the ever-present fact that the past 16+ years of my life have revolved around studying, you get tired of it and just want to move on with your life,” said Erasmus.

Micaela Breytenbach (20), a third-year pharmaceutical student at the NWU, said that she has felt extremely burnt out during the entire semester. “I’m so busy, causing me to get so little sleep and I even forget to eat sometimes,” said Breytenbach.

Breytenbach said that in the days leading up to exams, she has felt more overworked and that the effort she is putting in is, unfortunately, just not showing. “The lecturers give us such an unbelievable amount of work to study for an exam and then they don’t even ask what they told us to learn,” Breytenbach said.

Breytenbach stated that the only thing getting her through the semester is “chocolates and ice cream”.