Varanasi CDO Takes Student Questions on Careers, Duty and Public Life

VARANASI: A question about becoming prime minister turned a routine school visit into a wider conversation about duty, rights and public service at PM Shri Government Queens College on Thursday. Chief Development Officer Prakhar Kumar Singh took the teacher's place for a “student dialogue”, asking pupils about their interests and inviting them to speak openly about careers, success and the decisions that shape adult life.

Humanities student Krishna Kumar Gupta asked how young people should choose a future direction. Science student Tanu Pal wanted to know what effort a successful career requires. Rishu Yadav posed the day's biggest question: what would he have to do to become prime minister? Singh used the answer to discuss responsibility, citizenship and service rather than presenting public office as a shortcut to status.

Class 12 student Anchit Chakrawal asked how to distinguish right from wrong. The CDO's response brought together judgement, values and experience—three things that rarely arrive in equal measure when a teenager has to make a decision. He also told students about the Abhyudaya and Sankalp-30 coaching initiatives, pointing them towards programmes that may support competitive-exam preparation.

Assistant district inspector of schools Rana Brijesh Sisodia praised the pupils for engaging, while principal Visheshwar Singh urged them to keep asking questions. The point is easy to overlook in a results-driven system. Career sessions often become lists of examinations and eligibility rules; students need those facts, but they also need permission to discuss uncertainty, ethics, failure and the difference between a prestigious job and work that suits them.

A single interaction cannot replace trained counselling, updated course information or sustained mentorship. It can, however, make senior administration feel less remote and show students that serious questions are welcome. The value of Thursday's session will depend on follow-up—whether the school helps pupils locate the schemes mentioned, whether teachers continue the discussion and whether students who did not speak in the hall get another chance. The liveliest sign was the number of questions, not the number of speeches.

The students' names and questions also prevent the event from becoming a generic photograph of an official at a lectern. They show young people thinking about power, judgement and work in their own words. Future sessions could invite alumni from trades, arts, healthcare and small business as well as government. A wider range of examples would help pupils understand that meaningful public contribution is not limited to one examination or one office.