Each Pariksha Pe Charcha costs more than running a KV, JNV for a year

New Delhi: The central government’s spending on the annual Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) events has nearly doubled in four years, from Rs 4.92 crore in 2019 to Rs 8.16 crore in 2022, according to data obtained from the ministry of education through a Right to Information (RTI) application. Pariksha Pe Charcha is the annual interaction between school children and the prime minister Narendra Modi.

The amount spent on holding each of the PPC events between 2019 and 2022 was more than the average cost of running a Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) and a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) for a year. Both KVs and JNVs are central government-run schools and receive funds directly from the education ministry.

The PPC was “conceptualised” by PM Modi and is held annually ahead of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board exams since 2018. It is organised by MoE’s department of school education and literacy, wherein students, parents, teachers across the nation and also from overseas interact with PM Modi to “discuss and overcome the stress, emerging from examinations in order to celebrate life as an Utsav”, says the education ministry’s RTI reply.

PM Modi will interact with students, parents and teachers at PPC 2023 on January 27, 2023. The sixth edition of the event will be held at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, New Delhi.

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PPC Expenditure

MoE’s department of school education and literacy did not provide expenditure details of the first edition of PPC which was held at Talkatora Stadium on February 16, 2018. It said that event was organised by Samagra Shiksha Bureau which comes under the department and manages Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, a scheme supporting schools education from pre-school to Class 12.

The data provided by the department shows a 65.5 % increase in PPC expenditure from 2019 to 2022.

Pariksha Pe Charcha costs

The total amount includes all the expenditure incurred on organising PPC events including advertisement, publicity, accommodation, PPC kits and booking of Talkatora Stadium. The education ministry has spent Rs 24,79,01,112 (close to Rs 25 crore) in organising four PPC events between 2019 and 2022.

Dividing the total grants to KVs by the number of KVs shows that on average, the government spent Rs 5.17 crore on a KV in 2020-21 and Rs 5.4 crore in 2021-22. It spent slightly more – Rs 5.19 crore and Rs 6.11 crore – on each JNV. The expenditure incurred on each PPC between 2019 and 2022 was 6% to 25% more than the average cost of running a KV and a JNV in that corresponding year.

PPC 2023

Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on December 9, 2023 reviewed the ongoing preparations for the PPC 2023 event. He has called for deepening and expanding engagement with students, parents and teachers on the PPC 2023.

The ministry extended registrations for Pariksha Pe Charcha 2023 till January 27, 2023. The students can attend the interactive event with PM Modi by sending their entries of creative writing on suggested topics. PM Narendra Modi will be sharing tips of overcoming exam stress and will answer questions form the audience at the event. The PM will also answer questions related to education and career.

A total of 2,050 students, teachers and parents selected through the competitions on MyGov will be gifted with PPC Kits and a certificate of appreciation from the Director of National Council of Educational Research and Development (NCERT).