The National Senior Certificate examinations (matric exams) in South Africa started last week (5 Nov) and will continue till 15th December. During this period, other grades will sit down for exams as well. Due to Covid-19, this year-end examination might be really stressful not only on the learners but on the parents as well. Considering this, InshaAllah, we will be discussing and sharing some exam tips for parents and learners during this week.

For parents – A Good Environment and Working Area
Designate a room or area of the house for studying and ensure that everyone is respectful of that place. It’s hard to study in the family area when there are so many distractions. If your child is studying in an area where other siblings and guests are around, people are busy on their phones, supper is being cooked, and people are making conversation with them, your child is unlikely to get too much work done.

Sometimes, we disturb ‘only for a few minutes’ thinking that it won’t make a big difference. Example, we might ask our son to quickly move the car from the driveway or come meet a certain uncle or aunty that came to visit. It might seem like this is not a problem but it can be. For many students, it takes a long time to get into the groove of studying and once they are in that groove, any distraction can spoil the momentum.

Certain cars are very slow in take-off (1st and 2nd gear) but once they reach top end (4th and 5th gear) they are extremely fast. Your child might be like that. He/she might take long to start moving but once they start moving, they are unstoppable. That is why, once they start moving, the last thing they need is a distraction because then they will have to start off slowly all over again.

For Learners – Understand Yourself and Your Capacity
Some learners can sleep 4 hours a night and function like a super-mega-human while others can NOT wakeup before 6-8 hours of beauty-sleep. Some prefer to study in groups and some prefer to study alone. Night – owls study better at night while others are bursting with energy in the morning.

The point is, every learner is wired differently. Don’t try to copy the study habits of your friends. They might be wired different. Ask yourself what works for you. Listen to yourself. No human knows you better than you know yourself. Understand your limits and your capacity and use it to the best of your ability. You might tell your parents you are tired when in reality you know you have the capacity to study a little more. This is when you need to be honest with yourself and keep on studying.