Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has decided not to show Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Pariksha pe charcha' programme scheduled for telecast on Friday in its schools on the plea that it was busy with preparations for matriculation examination that begins on February 23.
School and mass education minister Badri Naryan Patra on Thursday said: "Union minister of human resource development has sent a letter to the state government on the issue. But it will not be wise to divert students' attention towards Modi's 'Pariksha pe charcha' during exam time."
Patra said: "Those students who are interested can watch it on social media. It's not mandatory for any school and we will not issue any direction to any school regarding this."
The Union human resource development ministry's letter states that Modi will hold a 'Pariksha pe charcha' programme on February 16 through a videoconference from Delhi's Talkatora Stadium.
Modi seeks to strike a chord with nearly 10 crore students across the country. In his address, he will stress on the exam related issues and advise students on how to relieve stress during and take the test with a positive attitude.
The programme will be broadcast live by Doordarshan, All India Radio, websites of the PMO, HRD ministry, Mygov.in, HRD ministry's YouTube channel, Facebook Live and Swayamprabha channel.
The circular said students from Class VI onwards could view the event.
The state government's stand is not surprising as in 2015 the BJD was critical of Modi's Teachers' Day address to students. Last year, taking a leaf out of Modi's book, chief minister Naveen had addressed school and college students.
Review job
Odisha chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi on Friday reviewed preparations for the matriculation examination scheduled from February 23. He directed all district collectors and superintendents of police to stop malpractices and conduct the exam in a fair manner. The examination will be held between 9am and 11.30am. However, extra 15 minutes will be allotted for mathematics paper.
Around 5.90 lakh students will take the class X examination. An official said admit cards would be available on the board's website www.bseodisha.ac.in.
