Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 16, 2018 interacted with students on subjects related to examinations and how to deal with stress and anxiety and said students should focus on learning as exams, results and marks are just the by-product.
“Focus on learning; exams, results and marks should be by-product,” the prime minister said, adding, “Ignorance about priorities leads to time mismanagement, students should look at it.”
He was interacting with students at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi and around 2,000 school and college students attended the programme at the venue. About 10 crore students from across the country participated through video conferencing.
The session ‘Pariksha Par Charcha’ was aired in all CBSE-affiliated schools and students were encouraged to ask questions and share stress-relieving techniques with the PM.
On the subject of concentration, the prime minister said that concentration isn’t something that has to be specifically learnt and yoga can help improve concentration.
“Concentration isn’t something that has to be specifically learnt. Every person does concentrate on something or the other during the day, it may be while reading, hearing a song, talking to a friend,” he said, adding, “Yoga is a means of relieving stress. Different asanas can help in relaxing the mind and easing up the nervousness which gives a positive energy.”
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.
“Do not compete with others, compete with yourself. Every student has its own potential,” the PM said, adding, “My young friends, do not bother about how many hours your friends study. Think- you studied for a certain number of hours on one day, better that the next day.”
He quoted Swami Vivekananda to invoke the importance of self-confidence to deal with examination stress and anxiety.
“In addition to the right skills and the means, what a student needs is self-confidence,” he said, adding, “Self-confidence comes by challenging ourselves and working hard. We should always think of bettering ourselves.”
On time management, the prime minister said that for students, one time-table or a schedule cannot be appropriate for the full year for students.
“For students, one-time table or a schedule can’t be appropriate for the full year,” the PM said, adding, “It is essential to be flexible and make best use of one’s time.”
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.
“Always remember what every parent sacrifices for the well-being of the child,” the PM said, adding, “I would request parents not to make the achievements of their child a matter of social prestige. Every child is blessed with unique talents.”