Marks are not life anymore, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and urged parents not to pressurise students over examinations as opportunities have developed immensely. He said we must rise above exams and asserted that we can move ahead in life with more options. Speaking at ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ here, the Prime Minister said: “Today, the world has changed a lot. The opportunities have developed immensely. The marks are not life anymore. Neither is any examination. These are just steps. First and foremost, we must accept this as a key step, but this isn’t our life.” “There is an environment created that says that we should get marks first, and everything else should be done later. Parents want to motivate their kids… I will urge parents not to tell children that exams are everything,” Modi explained. The Prime Minister was responding to a query by a student from Uttarkhand who how much attention one should pay to score good marks in exams. Modi said that parents should let their child pursue whatever he or she likes. “What is not good is when the passion of the children becomes fashion statements for parents. Extra-curricular activities needn’t be glamour driven. Let each child must pursue what he or she likes. Not pursuing any co-curricular activities can make a person like a robot. Yes, this would require better time management. Today opportunities are many and I hope youngsters make use of them,” he said. The Prime Minister said that a farmer may not be educated well, but he is informed. “He learns, he understands technology and makes his life better. We must rise above exams and we can move ahead in life with more options,” he said. The third edition of Prime Minister’s interaction programme with school students ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020’ was held at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi. During the programme, Prime Minister Modi answered questions and interacted with selected students about how they can beat examination stress. Around 2,000 students participated in the event from all over India. “The HRD Ministry in partnership with MyGov launched a ‘short essay’ competition on five different themes for students of classes IX to XII for the programme, a government press release said The first edition of Prime Minister’s Interaction Programme with school and college students ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha 1.0’ was held at Talkatora Stadium on February 16, 2018.
