Kashmiri Students have opted for development: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today complemented young students, their parents and others in Jammu and Kashmir for their effort to ensure high participation in the board examinations.
He said though the incidents of burning of schools in the Valley was a matter of concern, students’ participation in a big way in the exam process was an indication of their resolve to strive for a better future through education.
Lauding that 95 per cent of the students appeared in these examinations, the Prime Minister recounted his recent meeting with heads of village panchayats from the Valley. He said he had discussed the rise in the incidents of schools being burnt down to which the village heads had expressed the same concern as all other people of the country.
“I had then urged them to go back to their areas and focus on the future of young lads. Today, I am happy to say that they kept their word and created awareness among the people about it,” Modi said in his “Mann ki Baat” on the radio. He then went on to add: “Such a massive participation in the board exams indicates that the students of Jammu and Kashmir are focusing on a bright future through studies and proceed on the path of development.”
Modi said about 40-50 panchayat heads from the interiors of the Valley had met him and discussed a range of issues, including the situation in the Valley and development.
He also shared his experiences of this Diwali which he spent on the border with Army and ITBP jawans. He said the people from across the country had this time sent messages of greetings to the forces serving along the border.
Urging the people to keep sending such messages to the jawans standing guard on the borders throughout the year and not just on a few occasions, he said these were being compiled into a coffee-table book.
‘Stay in touch with jawans’
In “Mann ki Baat”, the Prime Minister said people from across the country had sent Diwali messages of greetings to the forces serving along the border. Urging the people to keep sending such messages to the jawans standing guard on the borders throughout the year and not just on a few occasions, he said these were being compiled into a coffee-table book.