Parents have complained that students of CBSE schools were being burdened with extracurricular activities related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming Pariksha Pe Charcha in exam season.

Pariksha Pe Charcha is an annual event where Modi interacts with students, teachers and parents from across the country and shares tips on how to take board and entrance exams in a stress-free manner.

Last week, the CBSE, the country’s biggest school board, issued a circular to affiliated schools, including those run by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), asking them to conduct activities from January 12 to 23 and upload briefs and photographs on the programmes on a link mentioned in the notice. The board also advised students to take selfies at these events and post them on social media.

The Pariksha Pe Charcha will be held in the first week of February.

According to the CBSE circular, schools will organise activities around the theme of “examination”. The activities include game sessions, marathons, meme competitions, nukkad nataks, small videos and testimonials by students, drawing posters, writing poetry, attending yoga-cum-meditation sessions and watching inspirational films.

“Students may take part in the above activities and take selfies and post them on social media with hashtags,” said the circular.

Ashok Agrawal, a member of the Delhi University court and president of the All India Parents Association, said the series of activities would burden the students and teachers instead of helping them to release stress.

“Children need time to prepare as the examinations are round the corner. Many states have introduced a pass-fail system in early classes too. Since the CBSE has issued the circular with a request for compliance, this will add to the pressure. These activities could have been conducted some other time. This is not the right time,” Agrawal said.

A teacher of a Kendriya Vidyalaya said teachers were equally burdened because of the plethora of activities. “Teachers are busier than students for these activities. We focus more on compliance,” he said.

The teacher said the government wanted teachers to take part in 80 hours of training a year, including online sessions. Earlier, each teacher had to pursue 21 days of offline training in five years.

“Apart from training, the school has to hold various types of activities on the orders of the government and the CBSE. The teachers are working under pressure,” he said.