Gorakhpur: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said education should remain free from politics and called upon teachers across Uttar Pradesh to promote healthy competition in excellence and innovation. He said those viewing education through a political lens would fail to see the transformational changes in the state’s education system since 2017. Such healthy competition, he said, would help shape the future of the state and the country.Yogi said making political statements about education was easy, but implementing reforms was difficult. Building smart classrooms and digital libraries, transferring money directly into the accounts of 1.60 crore children through DBT, and linking Sanskrit students from Class 6 to Acharya level with scholarships were challenging initiatives that had been implemented. He also cited Project Alankar and Operation Kayakalp as major efforts that had transformed basic and secondary schools.Yogi was addressing a Teachers’ Day programme in Gorakhpur, where State Teacher Awards and Chief Minister’s Teacher Awards for the Basic and Secondary Education departments were presented. A total of 81 teachers — 61 from basic education and 20 from secondary education — were honoured. The CM personally presented the awards and interacted with the teachers, congratulating and encouraging them.The state-level awardees will additionally be entitled to free travel up to 4,000 km annually on Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation buses for life. Their retirement age will also be extended by two years.The CM highlighted the positive changes brought about in the education system over the past nine-and-a-half years. He said strengthening the basic and secondary education systems could have been done even before 2017, but successive govts failed to pay adequate attention. Taking a swipe at previous govts, he said funds spent on events and celebrations could instead have been diverted towards education to secure the future of lakhs of children.He alleged that attempts had been made to defame Uttar Pradesh by circulating images and videos of dilapidated school buildings from other states as being from the state. He said those trying to discredit Uttar Pradesh’s education system failed to notice the widespread changes brought through smart classrooms and Operation Kayakalp.“Our competition is not with those making electoral promises, but with time,” he said, stressing that teachers had a responsibility to ensure that children received the right direction at the right time.The CM said education could not remain disconnected from changing technology and stressed the need to prepare students and teachers for artificial intelligence, robotics and drone technology. He said technology could also help eliminate disparities, as smart classrooms could bridge the gap between rural and urban students, while digital libraries could reduce the divide between the rich and poor.Yogi said the state’s education system had undergone a major transformation since 2017. He recalled that before 2017, riots, curfews and lawlessness had disrupted the functioning of schools and colleges. He said the situation had changed and that Uttar Pradesh’s youth and teachers, who were once viewed with suspicion outside the state, were now respected.He said the govt had linked “Teacher, Talent and Transformation” to strengthen education, focusing on teacher welfare, quality education and better resources. The honorarium of Shiksha Mitras had been increased to Rs 18,000 and that of instructors to Rs 17,000. Cashless health cover of Rs 5 lakh and social security benefits had also been extended to teachers, teaching staff and their families. The State Teacher Award amount was increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000.The CM said more than Rs 1,500 crore had been provided in secondary education to replace dilapidated school buildings, resulting in more than 2,100 new buildings. More than 32,000 schools now have smart classrooms, over 15,000 have ICT labs and 1,129 have digital libraries, while more than 2.61 lakh teachers have been provided tablets.He said technology could assist teachers but could never replace them. “A machine can provide answers, but it cannot teach a person to ask questions,” he said, adding that imparting values and discipline remained the teacher’s responsibility.Yogi also remembered former President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and extended Teachers’ Day greetings. He recalled the contributions of great teachers and scholars such as Ved Vyas, Chanakya, Sushruta, Charak and Aryabhata.Secondary education minister Gulab Devi and basic education minister Sandeep Singh also highlighted the govt’s initiatives for teachers and improvements in the state’s education system. The CM later inspected stalls set up by the basic education, secondary education and child development departments and interacted with teachers and students.BoxYogi hails teachers as architects of nation’s futureLater, in a self-made video, CM Yogi said, “I extend heartfelt greetings to all teachers, who take the education tradition of the state to the new generation in modern form. Uttar Pradesh has been the sacred land of ancient knowledge and culture. Kashi enlightened the world with knowledge. In Sarnath, Lord Buddha gave his first sermon. Ayodhya, Mathura, Vrindavan and Prayagraj have been the major centres of Sanatana knowledge traditions...Today, our teachers are scripting the future of the new generation by linking ancient traditions of knowledge to new techniques and technology…”In a post on X, the CM wrote, “On the birth anniversary of the renowned educationist, great philosopher, eminent proponent of the Indian knowledge tradition, former President, and ‘Bharat Ratna’ Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a humble tribute. Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to all esteemed teachers who illuminate the ‘future of the nation’ with the light of knowledge, values, and character, along with salutations to the people of the state and all teachers on ‘Teachers’ Day’.”He added that the future of the nation takes shape in classrooms, and the architects shaping that future are teachers.
