The West Bengal education department on Thursday said schools and colleges in the state need not air a speech that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver to students, The Indian Express reported.
The prime minister is scheduled to address students on how to beat exam stress at Delhi’s Talkatora Stadium on Friday. Earlier in February, he had released a book on the topic.
The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has asked all educational institutes to air the speech, and the University Grants Commission issued directives asking university vice-chancellors and college principals to ensure institutes provide large screens for students to see the programme.
On Thursday, however, West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said “no one is willing to listen to speeches” at a time when exams are round the corner. “Instead, students are busy preparing for their examinations,” he said. “Making preparations for live telecast of the speech will not be the right thing to do now.”
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