New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact live with millions of young students and teachers across the nation on Friday on the occasion of Teachers’ Day.

PM Modi will address the students from 3 pm to 4.45 pm through satellite link and live telecast on Doordarshan and the human resource development ministry.

But a language barrier has hit Modi’s speech as in kerala, Andhra and southern states, because they do not know Hindi, Further as it is not their second language, many of the students as well as teachers have urged Modi to speak in English.

The Prime Minister’s address – expected to be in Hindi – is worrying the teachers, who would have to translate for the children, especially those in the primary section.

The exercise has kicked up controversy with many political parties and others questioning  the timing of the address to students, which comes as PM Modi completes 100 days in office.

Besides the address, an essay competition “Guru Utsav 2014” has also triggered controversy. The Congress and other parties, especially in Tamil Nadu, have accused the government of trying to rename Teachers’ Day as ‘Guru Utsav’ though Ms Irani has clarified that Guru Utsav was an essay competition and the winning students would get prizes on Friday.