Pariksha Pe Charcha is an annual initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote a stress-free approach to examinations. (Express Photo)
After the central government expressed “disappointment” over the low response from Maharashtra for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Pariksha Pe Charcha 9” programme, state school education department has issued fresh instructions to district level officers to boost the registration.
As per the letter issued by the Director of Secondary Education, Maharashtra’s target is 65 lakh students for the programme. However, according to data from the team Pariksha Pe Charcha under the state education department, only 2,78,537 students from the state have participated in the programme as of December 22, triggering concern at the central level.
The letter addressed to education officers, dated December 22, states, “The displeasure has reportedly been conveyed by the Joint Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Union Ministry of Education.” The letter instructed district level education officers to take required steps to boost the students’ participation for Pariksha Pe Charcha. The letter refers to a WhatsApp communication by the Joint Secretary, dated December 22.
However, state education department secretary Ranjit Singh Deol told The Indian Express, “It is an administrative process of taking review of any initiative. This is to encourage more participation and not particularly to note displeasure.”
According to the letter, earlier circulars dated December 3 and December 8 had instructed schools about an online competition from December 1 to January 11 on the website https://innovateindia.mygov.in. The competition is open to students from Classes 6 to 12, as well as teachers and parents, and serves as the official registration and participation mechanism for Pariksha Pe Charcha 9.
Education authorities have now been asked to convene meetings with headmasters, principals, and field-level officers to ensure maximum participation from all schools in their respective districts. School heads have also been directed to actively encourage students, teachers, and parents to register and to submit detailed reports of the outreach efforts to the Directorate of Education.