Gorakhpur: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said his govt safeguarded nearly 1.5 lakh shiksha mitra families after previous regimes allegedly pushed them into uncertainty through “rule-violating decisions”. Addressing a state-level shiksha mitra felicitation ceremony organised by the basic education department in Gorakhpur, the CM said the govt chose “dialogue and cooperation” over confrontation to resolve long-pending issues of para-teachers.Referring to earlier govts, Yogi said attempts were made to grant assistant teacher status to shiksha mitras without following legal procedures, leading to adverse observations from the Supreme Court and cancellation of appointments. “At that stage, lakhs of families faced a crisis. Many had already served for nearly two decades. We decided not to terminate their services and instead continued taking their support,” he said.The CM highlighted that the honorarium of shiksha mitras was increased from Rs3,500 to Rs10,000 in 2017 and has now been raised to Rs18,000 per month with effect from April this year.Yogi also announced that all shiksha mitras would be covered under a Rs5 lakh annual cashless health insurance scheme. He directed officials of the basic shiksha parishad to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries receive health cards soon.Calling upon teachers to maintain a positive approach, the CM said education cannot function with a “trade union mindset”. “Teachers with negative thinking weaken the foundation of children, which ultimately harmssociety and the nation,” he said.The CM also reviewed education reforms under ‘Operation Kayakalp’ and claimed that infrastructure availability in govt schools, including toilets, drinking water, furniture and smart classes, had improved from nearly 30% to over 95%. He added that the dropout rate in schools had reduced significantly.During the programme, the CM felicitated selected shiksha mitras from various districts and released the “Arunoday” activity calendar aimed at strengthening leadership-based prayer assemblies in schools.
