Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said until new teachers are appointed, services should be taken from retired teachers, and they should be provided with a fixed honorarium.

Handing over appointment letters to 219 principals selected by Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission as a part of Mission Rozgar here, on Friday, the CM pointed out, “During the previous government’s tenure, secondary education colleges had become ‘hotbeds of cheating’. The cheating mafia took contracts to pass the children in the examination. However, significant improvements have been implemented in the last six years to address this issue.”

Stating that principals are the backbone of educational institutions, the CM said, “If principals remain disciplined and promote new activities and innovations in colleges, then meaningful outcomes are achieved.”

Yogi further said that the high school and intermediate board examinations conducted by the Secondary Education Council last year have become an example in the country. The council conducted cheating-free exams for 56 lakh students within 15 days and also declared the results within 15 days.

He emphasized that principals should make schools the centre of creative activities and engage with parents. Along with the curriculum, students should also be given information about the country, the world, and government schemes related to youth and women’s welfare. He said that this not only imparts knowledge to the students but also raises awareness, making the principal’s tenure memorable.

The CM said this was the same Uttar Pradesh, where there were security breaches in the previous governments. The citizens of the state did not feel safe, and there was a prevailing atmosphere of lawlessness and disorder. He mentioned that riots and corruption used to be the hallmarks here. Investors were leaving the state due to these circumstances.

“When our government provided a safe environment, the state received investment proposals worth Rs 38 lakh crore through the Global Investors Summit. This will provide jobs to more than one crore youth,” he said.

Yogi further said that in the last six years, the state government has been successful in providing government jobs to six lakh youth in a fair and transparent manner, including the appointment of 164,000 teachers.

The CM said UP is the centre of spiritual and cultural heritage. The state receives the highest number of spiritual tourists in the country, and there has been significant growth in this sector. Before 2017, only 1.5–2 crore tourists visited the state, but now this number has increased to 30 crore tourists in a year. Various types of employment are created with the arrival of a tourist in the state.

Yogi mentioned that if collective efforts are made, UP can become the leading economy in the country. He also emphasized that the state is a centre for education. During the time of independence, the state supplied teachers to various states in the country.

“We will again have to make efforts in that direction and raise an army of disciplined and patriot citizens,” he said.