With Pariksha Pe Charcha, PM Modi has created a legacy of moulding India’s future generations into calm, armoured, practical warriors for life. The movement augurs well for India’s future, especially as India embarks upon her Amritkaal to achieve her most ambitious targets yet.
When PM Modi advises students to approach exams as a sport, his words are going to stay with the kids for the rest of their lifetime. (Image courtesy: PIB)
By Tuhin A Sinha: Five years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conceptualised this unique interactive program – Pariksha Pe Charcha wherein students, parents, and teachers from across the nation and also from overseas, interact with him to discuss anxieties related to examinations and life after school. The event seeks to help students overcome stress in order to celebrate life as an ‘Utsav’. What started off as an offline extension of PM Modi’s book, Exam Warriors, is today an extremely popular annual event for exam-bound students, their parents and teachers. For the PM, it is an unflinching commitment towards the future generations of the country, as he believes that the right temperament to deal with life’s challenges, can best be moulded in a child’s formative years.
Pariksha Pe Charcha, has over the last five years, evolved into a movement that is driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to bring together students, parents, teachers and society to foster an environment where the unique individuality of each child is celebrated, encouraged and allowed to express itself fully. It marks a conscious effort at knowledge-based and holistic development of students. The Prime Minister urges everyone to put exams in the right perspective, rather than making it a life-and-death situation punctuated by undue stress and pressure. The one-line message is put forth very clearly: there is a beautiful world, beyond the ensuing exam.
The Exam Warriors module on NaMo App adds an interactive tech element to the Exam Warriors movement. It communicates the core messages of each mantra that the Prime Minister has written in the book ‘Exam Warriors’. It goes without saying that the book and the annual event complement each other. Over the last few years, the two have become an essential part of an exam-bound student’s armoury and have enabled a large number of students to remain happier and stress-free during challenges, leading to a better environment at home and better results in exams.
This year, Registrations for Pariksha Pe Charcha have more than doubled compared to the year 2022. About 38.80 lakh participants (Students- 31.24 lakh, Teachers – 5.60 lakh, Parents – 1.95 lakh) have registered for PPC- 2023 compared to about 15.7 lakh for PPC-2022. While data is certainly the easiest indicator of the success of the movement, the more significant way to ascertain its real impact is to understand the legacy it will leave behind.
There is no other world leader as of today who has shown the same sustained commitment towards making conditions easier for young exam-bound students. Hence, PM Modi’s efforts have become all the more laudable for three reasons. First of all, exam-related stress resulting in mental health issues is a reality that can’t be denied in today’s world. In India, in 2021, according to NCRB data, 13,089 students died due to suicide. 43.49% of these were female, while 56.51% were male. Though most of the deceased are probably college students, one must realise that mental health issues don’t erupt overnight. They manifest over months and years without the students realising it. If PM Modi doubles up as a counsellor every year and soothes performance-related stress, given the impact of his personality and words, he is doing his bit to negate the onset of negative thoughts in vulnerable students at an early stage.
This movement becomes all the more important given that most urban kids today live in nuclear families. A significant number of kids have both parents working, some have estranged parents, while most are the sole offspring with no siblings. All of these factors have led to natural forlornness in growing up years. In this situation, PM Modi assuming the role of a caring elder in the family acts as a huge boon.
Finally, I must emphasise here that habits are set early in life. When PM Modi advises students to approach exams as a sport, his words are going to stay with the kids for the rest of their lifetime. A calmer, more pragmatic, rational approach in life does not only help the kids in the ensuing exams but aids them respond more maturely in the future in dealing with life’s greater challenges. In life, after all, it’s the right attitude that marks the crucial difference between success and failure, more than academic performance.
The positive impact of Pariksha Pe Charcha is not confined to students alone. Both teachers and parents have benefited from it. Contemporary teachers are often solely focused on completing the syllabus, leaving them with little time to hone a student’s personality. At the same time, given the over-dependence on electronic gadgets in today’s working life, parents are at times unable to spend as much uninterrupted time with kids as they’d like to. In this situation, the Pariksha Pe Charcha by PM Modi acts as a masterclass, whose lessons are not confined to the immediate exams but for the entire life.
With Pariksha Pe Charcha, PM Modi has created a legacy of moulding India’s future generations into calm, armoured, practical warriors for life. The movement augurs well for India’s future, especially as India embarks upon her Amritkaal to achieve her most ambitious targets yet.
The writer is an author and BJP Spokesperson
(Views expressed in this opinion piece are that of the author.)
