The recent examination period for first‑ and second‑year lyceum students highlighted serious psycho‑pedagogical problems, turning a process of knowledge assessment into a test of stress endurance. Dr Aristoniki Theodosiou‑Tryphonidou, a developmental and school psychologist, conveys the picture emerging from her daily contact with adolescents and warns of the profound impact this system has on children’s mental health and future.
The psychologist clarifies that her intervention concerns the group of students who strive and invest in the public education system – a group that, according to statistics, represents around 10 to 15 per cent of the student population.
As she explains:
“In my capacity as a school and educational psychologist, I speak as someone who is daily confronted with issues in schools and classrooms, and who also sees the eyes of our adolescents in my office and looks their reality straight in the face. This approach is dedicated to these children. I make that clear from the outset.”
Riddles and traps
At the core of the issue, she stresses, is that “instead of facing a valid tool for assessing knowledge or critical thinking, these students were confronted with disproportionately burdensome exam papers containing trap questions and riddles.
“We saw well‑prepared students leaving exam rooms in a state of shock, with anxiety and panic attacks, feeling that the school itself was punishing them. So our problem here is not that exams were difficult, because we do not necessarily want easy exams. The problem is psycho‑pedagogical and operates on three levels,” Dr Theodosiou explains.
‘Why should I try?’
The first level concerns the blow to excellence and goal orientation through learned helplessness:
“For an adolescent to be motivated to study, they must trust that the system is fair. When you set traps, you break that contract. You lead the child into learned helplessness – that is, premature resignation. And the child says – and at least three children told me this in recent days: ‘No matter how much I study, they will trap me anyway. So why should I keep trying? Why waste my time? Why not play with my friends? Why not enjoy my adolescence if the questions won’t be based on what we were taught?’”
Stress tests
The second level lies in the creation of toxic stress that undermines the validity of the examination itself:
“Gotcha-style questions do not measure knowledge. They activate the fear centre of the brain and block working memory. As a result, the exam tool loses its validity. We are not testing who knows, but who can withstand stress. We are, in effect, administering a stress test to the child.”
Shadow education
The third – and most serious – level, according to her, is the perpetuation of social inequality:
“And finally, the most bitter issue for me: social inequality. This model of attrition, which is exam‑centred, does not distinguish excellence. It distinguishes those who have the financial means to pay for specialised private tutoring to learn tricks for avoiding traps. The public school should function as an equaliser, not as a feeder of existing inequalities. These are the three points I raise, and scientifically, with evidence, I consider them to be the problem that must be addressed.”
An emotional refuge
In the face of this situation, parents are called upon to manage the disappointment of children returning home after such examination experiences. Dr Theodosiou‑Tryphonidou stresses the need for the home to remain a safe space.
“The first thing I want to say to parents who see their children suffering from anxiety and resignation is not to become an extension of the Ministry inside the home. When we have an unjust school system, the home must function as an absolute emotional refuge. If a child feels pressured and threatened even in their own room, then stress becomes toxic, and parents essentially continue the work being done by the Ministry. It is not right for our adolescents to equate their personal worth with exam success.”
Responding to the observation that such an approach may sound theoretical during an examination period, Dr Theodosiou‑Tryphonidou insists on its practical basis:
“The approach we must take is to accept our child, love them, and be proud of their effort, not their grade. An unjust paper does not define who we are, nor our future.”
A way forward through action
The psychologist underlines that passive acceptance and internalisation of injustice do not help adolescents. On the contrary, they must be shown the path of active and dignified action, as she herself did by sending letters to the Ministry of Education.
“I try to help by showing through my actions the way forward: that when something bothers us, we do things to change it. We send letters, we ask for injustice to be remedied. We ask to speak, to have our voice heard. They can do this even now. The Ministry can restore fairness. It can change many things. In the letters I sent to Ms Michaelidou, I outlined – as a scientist – what could be done. Not because the Ministry does not already know; it certainly knows better than I do. What could be done to restore this sense of injustice children feel, so they can see that when there is a problem, we solve it. We do not sit back and lament our fate. This is very important.”
Summing up, Dr Theodosiou‑Tryphonidou concludes with two key pillars for supporting students:
“The first is that we embrace and accept our children, and show them through our words that for us it matters less whether they score a 20 and more that they are well. The second is that we help them by showing the way: that when something troubles you, act. Do not turn against yourself. Highlight the problem politely, with dignity and in a constructive way, and ask for the injustice to be addressed.”
Education Ministry has different philosophy
In contrast to the position expressed by the school psychologist, a source from the Ministry of Education commented on the issue, outlining a completely different philosophy regarding the structure and purpose of examinations. According to the official briefing, while Dr Theodosiou‑Tryphonidou’s view is respected, it is described by the Ministry as a ‘nihilistic approach’ that does not align with expert views on exam design.
The same source clarified that examination papers are of graded difficulty, with the ultimate aim of supporting and properly assessing all levels of students, from the weakest to the highest‑achieving. At the same time, the Ministry stresses that measures have already been taken for the benefit of students, including a reduction in the number of examinations and unnecessary syllabus content.
The aim of these changes, the Ministry says, is for the educational process to focus on substance and the cultivation of critical thinking, rejecting claims that exams function as ‘traps’ or ‘stress tests’.
Minister’s message to students
The Minister of Education, Athena Michaelidou, addressed the student community at the start of the examination period, sending a message of support and reassurance:
“Today the unified final promotion and graduation examinations begin for you, the students of lyceums and technical schools. Remember that no exam defines your worth or limits your future. Go into your exams with confidence and as little stress as possible. Do your very best. Keep your dreams and goals high. What matters most is effort and experience. As a government, we stand actively by your side to support your steps and strengthen your abilities. I sincerely wish you strength and every success to each and every one of you.”
