“I have my board exam and you have the Lok Sabha election. Are you fully prepared or nervous?” Class 11 student Girish Singh asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a session with students in Delhi on dealing with examinations.
Appreciating the question, Modi said were he Singh’s teacher, he’d advise him to take up a career in journalism.
“Examinations, results and marks should be seen as the by-products. Do your work. Don’t worry about the results. This is the same principle I follow in politics too. Elections will come and go. They are the by-products,” he told a gathering of over 2,300 school and college students and teachers at Talkatora stadium. Another 100 million watched a telecast of the event.
“I wish you all the best for your board exams. For my board exams, I have the wishes of 125 crore Indians with me. They are my strength,” Modi added.
The Prime Minister has become a counsellor of sorts to millions of students appearing for their Class 10 and Class 12 board exams every year. It started with an episode of his monthly outreach programme on radio, Mann Ki Baat, on the subject in January last year. The response he received in the programme encouraged Modi to release a book, Exam Warriors, which was released earlier this month.
In his “Pareeksha pe charcha ” event on Friday-a first of its kind interaction with students ahead of the Class 10 and 12 board examinations-Modi gave tips on Yoga, doled out advice to parents and teachers, and asked students to relax before exams.
He told his audience that exam marks-just like election results-should not be the sole goal and the focus must remain on learning. Modi advised students to compete with themselves “not with others”
The Prime Minister said students handle the pressure they face at home and schools quite well. “Children of this country are born politicians, they know how to deal with their parents”.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) received thousands of questions from students across the country, ranging from stress and parental pressure to yoga and how to deal with the competition. Some of the students were given an opportunity to field questions directly to the Prime Minister.
Modi answered the questions for over two hours and apologised for the fact that he could not speak in other languages and hoped it would be translated and conveyed to all. “We are a nation of diversities, different languages. But I’m unable to speak all those languages, I can’t speak Tamil, Malayalam or other languages but through voiceover, students should be informed about today’s address,” he said.
“One of the opening stanzas of Rig Veda says: let noble thoughts come from every direction. So if anyone gives good ideas or thoughts to a young student, be it a parent, a friend or the Prime Minister I welcome it. I have always maintained that exams have no correlation with being satisfied and successful in life,” said former Delhi University vice chancellor Dinesh Singh. (With HT)
