Lucknow: Escalating its protest against the UP govt’s decision to merge schools with low attendance, thereby closing around 30,000-odd primary schools, AAP MP Sanjay Singh raised the issue under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The party has also decided to organise a protest against the order in Lucknow on Aug 2, where it hopes to gather parents of affected children and other citizens who oppose the order to close down schools. Singh, who is spearheading the protests in UP, said that AAP would take this matter to the Supreme Court if needed.“This order is depriving children of the right to free and compulsory education. Govt is hiding its failures through such orders. Currently, 1.93 lakh posts of teachers are vacant in primary schools and thousands more in secondary and higher secondary schools,” he said. The protest has become AAP’s means of connecting with rural UP ahead of panchayat polls next year.
