LISTEN to everyone’s advice but change your lifestyle pattern only when you want to, education should not feel like a burden, focus not only on marks on improving life -- these are some of the mantras shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with school students to de-stress themselves ahead of board exams. Modi also noted that exams are like festivals and should be celebrated. In his interaction with the students during the ninth edition of ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha 2026 with PM’, he asserted that comfort zones don’t shape life - your way of living does. “Education should not feel like a burden. It needs our total involvement.

 

Education in bits and pieces does not ensure success. Instead of focusing on marks, everyone should focus on where they have made it in life. No matter what your parents, or teachers, or peers say, have faith in and follow your pattern, keeping in mind all the suggestions that come your way...,” he said. “Our goal should be such that it is within reach, but not easily attainable. Tame the mind, then connect the mind, and then keep the subjects you need to study. Then you will always find the student successful,” Modi told the group of students who had come from various parts of the country at his residence here. He cautioned against the obsession with marks, asking whether anyone remembers the name of a student who scored highest marks last year in boards.

 

When the students replied no, Modi underscored that even if such achievements are praised briefly, they are soon forgotten, showing how little importance marks hold. A student from Gujarat asked that while parents worry for them and teachers support them, the issue arises when teachers suggest one study pattern, parents insist on another and students follow a different trend, leaving them confused about which pattern is correct. “Just as siblings at home have different eating patterns - some starting with vegetables, some with dal, some mixing everything together - everyone has their own way. Enjoyment comes from following one’s own pattern...Some prefer studying at night, others early in the morning, and each has their own rhythm,” he said.