CBSE Board Exams 2024: Straight from CBSE Exam Controller: How did Dr. Sanyam Bhardwaj gear up for his Board exams?

CBSE Board exams 2024 are knocking at the door. The admit cards for Class 10 and 12 Board exams are also out. With just a few days left for this crucial exam, we reached out to the CBSE Exam Controller Dr. Sanyam Bhardwaj for his suggestions for this year’s Board exam candidates. While sharing his valuable advice, Dr. Bhardwaj, in a free-wheeling chat, went down the memory lane and told us how he had prepared for his Board exams. “I was not a special student. I was a normal student like you people and you could be much better than me, I am sure. I started in a very normal school,” starts the humble educationist. His parents were his guiding stars while his teachers were very supportive. “My father asked me to follow a schedule for every day and the entire week,” he reminisces. “I focussed a lot on writing, memorising and revising. Also, I made sure that I rectified my mistakes. All these had helped me a lot,” adds Dr. Bhardwaj.

Talking about his own strategies to prepare for exams, Dr Bhardwaj recalled how he would finish his exam preparation at least 10-15 days prior to an exam day. “Initially, I focussed not only on the first examination but for the remaining ones. For the first exam, I used to start preparing about 10-15 days before the scheduled date. The cycle was like this: I would start remembering the second paper and third paper.”
Dr. Bhardwaj’s father played a very crucial role in his preparation for Board exams. “Back then, my father was posted at a distant location. Phones were also not very easily available in our times. So communication was very difficult. But whenever he would come, he would guide us and even our mom. My mother was literate but not as educated as today’s mothers,” he says. Apart from helping Dr. Bhardwaj with his exam preparations and creating an effective schedule, he also taught him how to stay tension-free during the exam. “My father would say, ‘You prepare well for the examination. Don’t think about what would happen. Everything will be fine.’ My teachers also supported me in case of any difficulty,” adds Dr. Bhardwaj.
Dr. Bhardwaj added that nowadays, the immense support from parents and the top-notch facilities provided by schools play an important role in the student’s preparation environment. Talking about how board exams are crucial stepping stones for building a student’s career, he says, “It is our journey, and we must appear in the examination. So we must make a plan, work hard. Remember that these are only a few of the most interesting days of your life. So you need to work a little hard, you need to be focused because these are only a few days which will change your entire life, which will fulfill your entire dream.”