Comparison of academic stress between government and private school higher secondary students

Background: Academic stress is the feeling of anxiety or apprehension on the academic activities. It can leads to negative impact on learning capacity, academic performance, education and employment attainment. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess and compare the level of academic stress between the government and private school higher secondary school students. Methods: Non-experimental cross sectional research design was adopted with 100 participants who selected by cluster sampling technique at selected schools. The tool used for the study was demographic variables and perceived stress scale to assess the level of stress. Results: Out of 50 participants from government school, 14(28%) had low level of stress, 23 (46%) had moderate level and 13 (26%) had high level of stress whereas in out of 50 private school students four (8%) had low level of stress, 19(38%) had moderate level and 17(54%) had high level of stress. Conclusion: The study findings concluded that there is high level of stress found among students studying in both the schools and high percentage was observed in private school students. Periodical student counseling including career guidance, stress management strategies can be incorporated in the curriculum to cope up with stressful events.