Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has claimed a dramatic turnaround in the state’s education sector, announcing on Saturday that the number of out-of-school children has plummeted from 19 per cent to just 3 per cent. Speaking in Varanasi at the launch of the latest 'School Chalo Abhiyan' campaign, the Chief Minister credited sustained structural reforms and a massive ₹80,000 crore annual investment for bringing nearly every child in the state into the formal classroom system.
The transformation, according to Adityanath, is most visible in the revitalisation of infrastructure and the expansion of the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas. These institutes, where girls belonging to poor economic families are educated, have now received permission to educate the pupils till Class 12 so that children from weaker communities should not leave schooling after the primary level. Another important step mentioned by the Chief Minister was the 'Bal Vatika' class initiated for children between the ages of three to six years in order to prepare them for the first grade.
In a push for greater institutional accountability, Adityanath held up the District Magistrate of Chitrakoot as a role model for enrolling his own child in a government school. He pointedly urged teachers across the state to follow suit, suggesting that those who teach in state schools should demonstrate their confidence in the system by enrolling their own children there. "The days of learning through memorisation are behind us," he said at the meeting, adding that the need of the hour was to concentrate on understanding concepts and solving problems.
Looking back at the pre-2017 scenario, the Chief Minister highlighted the sorry state of rundown buildings and rampant dropouts. According to him, projects like Operation Kayakalp and NIPUN Bharat Mission not only reconstructed schools but also kindled interest among students for learning. In the meantime, NITI Aayog, in its report, seems to have appreciated the efforts made by the state government, which now plans to continue its efforts toward achieving 100 percent enrolment in future sessions.
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