Narendra Modi, Hon'ble Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi interacted with school and college students at Talkatora Stadium, here today. Around 2300 school and college students including teachers and principals participated in the programme. Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar graced the occasion. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi held a Town Hall session with students on subjects related to examinations. He took questions from students present at the event. Students also asked him questions through various television news channels, the Narendra Modi Mobile App, and the MyGov platform. Beginning the conversation, the Prime Minister said that he had come to the Town Hall session as a friend of the students, and their parents and family. He said that he was speaking to as many as 10 crore people across the country, through various platforms. He acknowledged his own teachers, who had instilled in him the values that enable him to keep the student in him alive till today. He exhorted everyone to keep the student alive in them. In the course of the event which lasted about two hours, the Prime Minister took questions on a range of subjects, including nervousness, anxiety, concentration, peer pressure, parents’ expectations, and the role of teachers. His answers were embellished with wit, humour and a number of different illustrative examples. He quoted Swami Vivekananda to invoke the importance of selfconfidence, to deal with examination stress and anxiety. He gave the example of the Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris, who won a bronze medal in the ongoing Winter Olympic Games, just eleven months after suffering a life threatening injury. On the subject of concentration, the Prime Minister recalled the great cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s advice on the radio programme Mann Ki Baat. Tendulkar had said that he only focuses on the ball that he is playing at present, and does not worry about the past or future. The Prime Minister also said that Yoga can help in improving concentration. On the subject of peer pressure, the Prime Minister spoke of the importance of “Anuspardha” (competing with oneself), rather than “Pratispardha” (competing with others). He said one should only try to
do better than what one had achieved earlier. Noting that every parent sacrifices for his or her child, the Prime Minister urged parents not to make the achievements of their child a matter of social prestige. He said every child is blessed with unique talents. The Prime Minister explained the significance of both the Intellectual Quotient, and the Emotional Quotient, in the life of a student. On time management, the Prime Minister said that for students, one time-table or a schedule cannot be appropriate for the full year. It is essential to be flexible and make best use of one’s time, he added. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Shri Javadekar said that Exam is a non-political issue and is not only confined to school and colleges but is related to life, as every challenge in life is an exam. He further added that it is an important topic as it relates to everybody and we must handle exam pressure with positive attitude and exams should be treated like festivals. The minister lauded the vision and mission of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in providing holistic education from primary to higher studies. Shri Javadekar said that the Ministry of Human Resource Development has taken a number of initiatives to change the structure of the entire education system. He added that to promote quality education, the ministry has developed learning outcomes. He further said that innovation in higher education is also a key focus to support research within the country. Shri Javadekar also informed that the budget allocation of Rs 1,00,000 crore for Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) will also help to step up investment in research and related infrastructure. He also said that the Prime Minister's Research Fellows (PMRF) scheme will help improving the quality of research by attracting the best talents across the country. The minister added that high technology research labs are being developed to promote brain gain. Students of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan also performed a cultural programme during the event. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi also visited the Poster exhibition and Graffiti wall where he interacted with the students. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister for Science & Technology & Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Shri Satya Pal Singh, Minister of State (Higher Education) and Shri Upendra Kushwaha, Minister of State (School Education & Literacy), Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament were also among the dignitaries present.
Making school education qualitative
The Central Government, through the centrally sponsored schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) supports the States and UTs on several interventions to improve quality, including regular inservice teachers’ training, induction training for newly recruited teachers, training on ICT Component, Inclusive Education, Gender Sensitization and Adolescent Education.Under both SSA and RMSA, the focus is to give subject specific, need based and relevant in service teacher training to both elementary and secondary