Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged addressing children’s excessive screen time through sports and creative activities during a meeting with 82 National Award-winning teachers at his official residence on Friday (September 4, 2026).
The awardees highlighted the experiences and innovations that have shaped their teaching journey. They shared several creative approaches adopted by them to make classroom learning more engaging and effective. He urged teachers to speak to parents about how much time their children spend on screens and whether they continue using mobile phones late at night. He suggested that children could gradually come out of excessive screen use by developing an interest in sports, physical games and creative activities.
The awardees include 48 teachers from the Department of School Education and Literacy, 21 teachers/faculty members from higher educational institutions and polytechnics, and 13 skill trainers from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Highlighting the issue of excessive screen time, he said that it has become a major concern.
PM Modi referred to the National Education Policy and stressed the importance of taking children outside the classroom and connecting them with real-world skills and forms of work. He also asked teachers to go beyond imparting knowledge about the syllabus and help inculcate values such as dignity of labour amongst the children.
