Students should be allowed to decide their future freely, follow their dreams, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that students should not be pressurized by teachers and parents to score good marks and that their unfulfilled dreams should not be forced upon children. He further advised students to stay away from panic and appear for their tests in a festive mood.

New Delhi: Urging parents and teachers not to force their 'unfulfilled dreams' upon their children, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday advised them to let students follow their dreams while addressing board exam students during the 2022 edition of 'Pariksha Pe Charcha'. Students should not be pressurized by teachers and parents to score good marks. The unfulfilled dreams of parents and teachers should not be forced upon children. They should be allowed to decide their future freely and follow their dreams," said PM Modi while interacting with students during the fifth edition of 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' at Delhi's Talkatora Stadium today.

He further said, "Parents sometimes fail to closely observe the strength and interests of their children. We should understand that every child is blessed with something extraordinary that parents and teachers fail to discover a lot of times." The Prime Minister further explained that online education is based on the principle of attaining knowledge while offline education is regarding sustaining that knowledge and practically applying it further. Stating that skills are quite important across the world, the Prime Minister said, " Technology is not a bane, it should be used effectively. Today students are developing 3D printers and running apps for Vedic mathematics. They're efficiently using technology."

Further highlighting that outdated ideas and policies from the 20th century cannot guide the country's development trajectory in the 21st century, the Prime Minister said, "We have to change with the times. NEP should be called 'National Education Policy. So many people were involved in drafting the policy. We were brainstorming on it for the last 6-7 years. We took the advice of teachers and students from far-flung areas along with modern intellectuals." The Prime Minister also advised the students to find out what makes them happy and indulge in activities they enjoy to keep themselves motivated. "There is no injection or formula for motivation. Instead, discover yourself better. Find out what makes you happy and work on that. Do things that you enjoy," added PM Modi.

Interacting with board exam students, PM Modi advised them to stay away from panic and appear for their tests in a festive mood. "You are not giving exams for the first time. In a way, you are exam-proof. Thus, do not be stressed. Remember, you have overcome such exams before. There is no one sitting here who is appearing for exams for the first time. We have become exam proof by repeatedly sitting for exams after equal intervals of time. Exams are a stepping stone in our life." Urging students to stay away from an environment of panic, the Prime Minister advised students to appear for examinations with full self-confidence.

"I want students to stay away from a panic environment during exams. No need to copy friends, just keep doing whatever you do with full confidence and I believe all of you will be able to give your exam in a festive mood, without any stress," said PM Modi. Referring to the widespread usage of online mode of education since the onset of the COVID pandemic, the Prime Minister said, "Students should introspect themselves while studying online, whether they actually study or spend time watching reels on social media." "Whatever happens offline, the same takes place online. This means the medium is not the problem. Irrespective of the medium, if our mind is delved into the subject, then it won't make a difference in grasping things," he added.

The Prime Minister also assured the students that the queries of students that will remain unanswered during the programme due to time crunch will be answered by him on the Namo App. "All the queries of the students that might not be discussed here due to time crunch will be answered by me in the Namo App via videos, audio messages and written texts," said PM Modi. "Today's program is particularly special to me as I meet you all after a long gap," added PM Modi.

Meanwhile, students who arrived at the Talkatora stadium to participate in the interaction with the Prime Minister shared their experiences before the commencement of the programme. A class 12 student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kapurthala, Chhavni said, "I am very excited to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and feel very fortunate on getting this opportunity. It is very common for students to experience stress before appearing for examinations. But when the Prime Minister himself interacts with students face-to-face, it acts as a motivating force and it feels really nice to listen to him, it takes away a lot of stress of the students and helps a lot in managing that anxiety."

Another student from JNV, Kanpur Nagar, Uttar Pradesh said, "I am excited and nervous at the same time. I feel extremely fortunate to get a golden chance to interact with the Prime Minister." "I have never met the Prime Minister in person, never had an opportunity to interact with him in person, so I am really excited to participate in this interaction," said another student of class 10 from Jawahar Navodya Vidyalaya, Faridabad. Pariksha Pe Charcha is an annual event in which the Prime Minister responds to questions related to examination stress and related areas posed by students in his uniquely engaging style in a live programme.

with Agency inputs