Lucknow, July 19: The landscape of basic education schools has witnessed a remarkable transformation since 2017. Children used to fear going to schools, and enthusiasm among the people was lacking. Trees were a common sight in place of playgrounds. However, today, these very schools portray a surge in student numbers. Walls of schools now display creative expressions of young minds through painted artworks. Parents now eagerly send their children to school, showing a growing curiosity for education. In the past six years, an additional 5.5 to 6 million children have enrolled in schools under the Basic Education Board. The current count of students in these schools has surpassed a staggering 191 million, surpassing the entire population of many countries. Uttar Pradesh has undertaken revolutionary changes in the past six years, striving for overall development.

In a significant move, CM Yogi Adityanath announced on Wednesday during the Education Session 2023-24 that a sum of INR 1,200 per student would be directly debited to parents' bank accounts for the purchase of uniforms, sweaters, school bags, shoes, and stationery. Over 12,000 people across the state tuned in to watch the program live on the official state government's YouTube channel, with thousands more engaging through other mediums.

CM Yogi emphasized that education has played a paramount role in eradicating poverty. The progress made in achieving the goal of liberating Uttar Pradesh from poverty is commendable, with millions now self-sufficient. Education topped the list of parameters set by NITI Aayog, and the government's efforts to revolutionize the education sector have already begun to show positive results. The CM expressed gratitude to all those who played a role in this transformative journey.

During the event, CM Yogi inaugurated various initiatives, including the DBT process, distributing scholarships to girl students of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, stipends to disabled students, and escort allowances for seriously disabled students. He also inaugurated additional classrooms and auditoriums in 125 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Inter Colleges and other educational institutions across 20 districts.

Moreover, CM Yogi dedicated various educational materials developed by MSCERT, including Kalankur, Kalasrijan-2, Internship Manual, and Sanskrit Language Kit. He also launched the Learning via Doing Program in 1,772 primary schools and distributed the Wunderbox developed by IIT Gandhinagar to 52,836 located Anganwadi centers for pre-primary education.