Emphasising the development in the education sector of Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that an additional 55 to 60 lakh children have been registered in the same schools of the Basic Education Council in the last six years where students were afraid to go to prior to 2017.
He stated that the number of students studying in elementary schools in UP is more than 1.91 crore, which is “even larger than the entire population of many countries.”
Addressing a program on Wednesday where the Chief Minister released a sum of Rs 1200 per student studying in schools under the Basic Education Board for academic session 2023-24, he stated.
“This amount has been transferred to their parent’s bank accounts through DBT for the purchase of their uniforms, sweater, school bag, shoes, and stationery as per their size and choices.”
Interestingly, more than 12,000 people watched this event on the official YouTube channel of the state government across the entire state.
Referring to the report by NITI Aayog, Chief Minister Yogi said that achieving the goal of liberating Uttar Pradesh from poverty is a significant accomplishment, and among the parameters set by NITI Aayog, education was the foremost one.
He stated that there has been substantial progress in the field of education, and the positive results will be evident in the next 5-10 years. Notably, the education sector has witnessed significant transformation, particularly in the aspirational districts.
The Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to all the teachers and mentors and extended heartfelt appreciation to the departments for having turned it into a mission and contributing to this cause.
In his address, CM Yogi further said that it is the responsibility of teachers to hold discussions with parents for the arrangement of uniforms, books, shoe-socks and stationery within the given time frame.
“Until two-three years ago, there were complaints about not receiving uniforms or books. Now, the money is directly going into the parents’ accounts, which showcases transparency,” he added.
The Chief Minister said that the teachers must remain vigilant that the money sent for children’s uniforms and other things are utilized for the same and also hold meeting with parents of children from time to time.
This will also help in ascertaining how many children are actually studying in the schools of the Basic Education Council, he added.
He further said: “It is our responsibility to communicate with the parents of students who drop out of school midway. By engaging with them, these children can be encouraged to continue their education and make positive contributions.”
Chief Minister Yogi stated that before 2017, there was a severe shortage of teachers, while in the past 6 years, 1.64 lakh teachers have been recruited in the Basic and Secondary Education Boards. He said that as retiring teachers create vacancies, the process of continuous recruitment is being carried out to meet the additional demand for teachers.
The Chief Minister further said: “The process of creating an Education Commission within the state is currently underway, and very soon we will establish it. Additionally, refresher courses should be conducted regularly for the teachers to keep them updated.”
He added that the effort should be to ensure that no DIET remains vacant and qualified teachers are appointed there. He said that the books released today should be made available in every school, and teachers should be encouraged to read them.
Chief Minister Yogi expressed gratitude to the institutions that have contributed to the progress of the Basic Education Council’s Operation Kayakalp through CSR funds. He also honored six such institutions for their contributions.
He mentioned that along with these institutions, many people from various sections of society have shown interest and taken the Operation Kayakalp program to new heights of success.
He highlighted that in the past, no one even considered providing funds to the Basic Education Council, but now he council has received Rs 250 crores from CSR funds.
“Though arrangements for such donations existed before, nobody was willing to step forward. These funds will help strengthen the foundation of the state and bring about positive changes,” he added.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also inaugurated the DBT transfer process for providing scholarships to girls studying in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, stipends for disabled students, and escort allowances for severely disabled students.
On this occasion, he also inaugurated additional classrooms and auditoriums constructed in 125 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Inter Colleges and training institutes of 20 districts.
Furthermore, the CM unveiled Kalankur, Kalasrijan-2, Internship Manual, and Sanskrit Language Kits developed by MSERT, along with launching the “Learning by Doing” program and Teacher Manual in 1,772 upper primary schools.
During this event, distribution of the “Wander Box” developed by IIT-Gandhinagar for pre-primary education to 52,836 Anganwadi centers was also initiated.