New Delhi: Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said there has been a tremendous increase in the number of students registering for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talk show – “Pariksha Pe Charcha” over the past few years.
It is an event where Modi interacts with the students and tries to answer their questions related to exam stress and other issues.
This year’s “Pariksha Pe Charcha” is scheduled to take place on January 27 at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi and will be telecast live across the country.
While the event was primarily meant for school students, higher education institutions have also been asked to participate in the event.
Started in 2018, the program saw 20,000 students register in the first year. The number was 158,000 in 2019, it was three lakh in 2020, 14 lakh in 2021 and 15.8 lakh in 2022, Pradhan said at a media meet on Tuesday. This year, the registrations are 38.8 lakh, he said.
During the event, the Prime Minister talks to students on various topics including mental health, exam preparation tips and ways to deal with stress.
Pradhan said the event “has become more of a student movement in recent years”, with a 50 per cent increase in registration this year compared to last year.
He informed that over 2,000 students will physically participate in the “discussion” at Delhi’s Talkatora Stadium. “We have tried to include more students from state board schools this year so that more and more students from regional schools get a chance,” he added.
The ministry has received around 20 lakh queries from across the country, including from experts, parents, schools and students. Pradhan said, “The questions that should be asked during the talks have also been discussed in advance and the NCERT is studying them.”
The Minister informed that the students are also interested in tips to stay healthy and for their future career.
Higher education regulators All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and University Grants Commission (UGC) have sent letters to colleges and universities asking them to “make necessary arrangements” for teachers and students to participate in the event virtually. The letters cite orders sent to them by the Ministry of Education.
“It is requested that you may kindly send suitable advice to make necessary arrangements so that all the students of higher education institutions/universities of your department as well as state governments can watch/listen to the telecast,” the letter dated January 10 sent by the ministry said. Education is regulated by AICTE and UGC.
“Though most of the Institutes/Universities are equipped with TV and have electricity connection, if electricity, TV and reception of TV signal is not available in the Institutes/Universities or is in non-working condition, action will be taken to ensure provision of TV and For TV reception (including making alternate arrangements for power on that day through generators/inverters etc.) to ensure that students can watch the Prime Minister’s live address on that day in all institutions/universities.
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