Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with students, teachers, and parents at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Monday during the 7th edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC).
PPC is a movement driven by Mr. Modi’s efforts to bring together students, parents, teachers, and the society at large to foster an environment where each child’s unique individuality is encouraged and allowed to express itself fully.
External pressure and stress
Dania Shabu from a private CBSE school in Oman and Mohammed Arsh from the government-run Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Burari in Delhi raised the issue of addressing external factors such as cultural and societal expectations contributing to added pressure on students.
Mr. Modi highlighted the role of teachers in mitigating the impact of added pressure from external factors upon students and also pointed out that parents have experienced this from time to time. He suggested making oneself capable of handling pressure and preparing for it as a part of life.
He also suggested assessing stress levels and moving forward by gradually incrementing it so that the student’s ability is not hampered by it.
Adivasi girl student from Gundala to take part in ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’
Peer pressure and competition among friends
During the interaction, the Prime Minister addressed the issue of competition and challenges during a student’s life.
Addressing the issue of peer pressure and competition among friends raised by Bhagya Laxmi from government-run Demonstration Multipurpose School in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Drashti Chauhan from JNV Panchmahal in Gujarat, and Swathi Dileep from Kendriya Vidyalaya in Kerala’s Calicut, Mr. Modi highlighted the importance of competition. He also emphasised though that competition should be healthy.
Mr. Modi pointed out that often the seeds of unhealthy competition are planted in the family situations leading to perverse competition among the siblings. He asked the parents to avoid comparison among the children.
Role of teachers in motivating students
Throwing light on the role of teachers in motivating students, Mr. Modi replied to questions by Kondakanchi Sampatha Rao, a Music teacher from ZP High School, Upparapalli, Andhra Pradesh, and Bunty Medi, a teacher from Sivasagar Assam. Mr. Modi underlined that music has the capability to relieve the stress of students who not only belong to one class but the entire school.
“Teachers are not in a job role but they shoulder the responsibility of grooming the lives of students,” he added.
Dealing with exam stress
Adrita Chakraborti of Pranavanda Bidya Mandir, West Tripura, Shaikh Taifur Rehman, a student of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Bastar, Chhattisgarh and students from Adarsh Vidyalaya, Cuttack, Odisha, Rajyalaxmi Acharya asked Mr. Modi about dealing with exam stress.
Mr. Modi reminded the students that most of the exams are still written and the habit of writing is declining due to computers and phones. He asked them to stay in the habit of writing. He asked them to devote 50% of their reading and study time to writing. He said only when you write something you truly understand that. He asked them not to be panicked by the speed of the other students.
Maintaining healthy lifestyle
Raising the issue of striking a balance between exam preparation and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, Dhiraj Subhas, a student of Senior Secondary School from Rajasthan, Najma Khatoon a student of PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya in Kargil, Ladakh and Abhishek Kumar Tiwari, and a teacher from Tobi Lahme a government higher secondary in Arunachal Pradesh asked the Mr. Modi about managing studies along with exercise.
Mr. Modi said being healthy requires some routines, and asked about spending time in sunlight, and getting regular and complete sleep. He pointed out that habits like screen time are eating into the required sleep.
Career progression
Giving insights on career progression, an issue raised by Madhumita Mallick of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Barrackpore, North 24 Pargana, West Bengal, and Aditi Tanwar of The Millennium School in Panipat, Haryana, Mr. Modi suggested attaining clarity when it comes to career path and avoiding confusion and indecisiveness.
Role of Parents
Deepasri, a student from Puducherry Government Higher Secondary School, who joined the program via video conferencing from Delhi, asked Mr. Modi about the role of parents and how students can build trust. Mr. Modi touched upon the trust deficit in families and asked the parents and teachers to tackle this serious issue. He said that this deficit is not sudden but is a result of a long-drawn process and requires a deep self-analysis of everyone’s conduct, be it teachers, parents or students. Honest communication can reduce the chances of trust deficit, he said.
Students should be sincere and honest in their dealings. Similarly, parents should also convey their confidence in their children instead of suspicion. The distance created by the trust deficit can push children into depression. The Prime Minister asked the teachers to keep channels of communication open with the students and avoid favouritism. He asked for an experiment and requested families of friends to regularly meet and discuss positive things that can help children.
Intrusion of technology
Chandresh Jain, a parent from Pune, Maharashtra raised the issue of the intrusion of technology in students’ lives and Kumari Puja Srivastava, a parent from Ramgarh, Jharkhand asked about managing studies with the abundance of social media platforms. Abhinav Rana, a student from TR DAV School, Kangoo, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, raised the issue of educating and encouraging students to manage exam stress effectively while also harnessing the benefits of mobile technology as a tool for learning. Mr. Modi stressed on formulating a set of rules and regulations in the family and mentioned no electronic gadgets during dinner and creating no gadget zones in the house. “In today’s world,” Mr. Modi said, “one cannot run away from technology.”
