Festivals Feel Like Deadlines As Exam Pressure Takes the Joy Out of Diwali for Students

For many students who are living away from home, Diwali is one of the only times they get to visit their family, relax and feel like they’re part of something. However, more and more students are starting to feel stressed about the festival due to exams, important assignments or busy schedules.

Many universities have exams right before or directly after Diwali. Some students will also have important academic events during this time. Even if there is a break during Diwali, the time around the festival can be very busy meaning students aren’t able to get home in time to enjoy their break. They may have a break during the festival but won’t have enough time to get home, relax and return without any worries. Meaning they won’t really be able to enjoy the festival.

When Your Break Isn’t A Break

Students living in cities far away from their hometowns may struggle to celebrate Diwali. They will have to plan, pay and spend time getting home. Train tickets will have to be booked, journeys can take hours and they will have to fit their travel around their university schedule.

If they have an exam straight after Diwali they may struggle to decide whether to get home and miss out on some revision time or stay and miss out on the family celebration. If they do get home they may worry about their revision throughout the festival. If they stay they will watch pictures and videos of their families celebrating.

They may also feel guilty for constantly missing out on events. Festivals can be a great way for students living away from home to feel like they belong and are in a familiar place. If they are constantly missing out due to academic reasons they may begin to see the festivals as another date on their calendar.

Normalising Being Always Available

This is made worse by how normal it has become to expect people to fit their personal life around their work/academic schedule. Many students will be familiar with working through holidays, having last minute assignments during festivals and being expected to be available during their break. Many workplaces have become accustomed to the idea that work will never stop.

Some academic environments also have this mindset. Students are expected to fit their exam times, assignments, attendance and other important academic events around big festivals. They are often expected to just manage their time better. But should every personal occasion have to become a time-management challenge?

Education Should Not Make Students Feel Guilty for Celebrating

Whilst it is important to be disciplined with your academics, universities do have syllabuses to complete, exams to fit around and admin to complete. However when creating an academic schedule you should also consider that students have lives outside of their classes. Festivals are well known and planned for in advance. The dates are known and universities can plan exams and other big events around them.

We shouldn’t expect universities to stop all academic events or expect students to not have any responsibilities during festivals. However we should think about how we schedule our events. Taking a little time to plan exams so that students aren’t having big exams right before or after big festivals and allowing enough time for them to get home shows that we understand students living away from their families.

Most importantly we should question why we have a culture of being tired and always available as a sign of dedication. Students shouldn’t feel like they’re being irresponsible for wanting to spend Diwali with their family. They shouldn’t have to miss out on celebrating due to feeling secure with their academics.

Students Deserve A Life Not Just a Break

Unfortunately many students have started to accept that this is just how it is. They know they will have exams during festivals so are hesitant to book their tickets. They learn to celebrate via quick phone calls or short visits. Eventually they begin to miss out on celebrations.

However just because they have a break on their academic calendar doesn’t mean it means much. They should be able to actually relax, visit and spend time with the people they care about.

Universities often talk about creating a positive learning environment and preparing students for life outside of the university. This should also include understanding how important it is for students to have a life outside of their academics.

Diwali is meant to be a time to bring people together however students are beginning to calculate how much time they can spend at home. If students are beginning to see festivals as deadlines, maybe it is time to think about what our academic calendars are teaching them about the value of their own life.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.