Lucknow: Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused BJP govt in Uttar Pradesh of “destroying the future” of students and farmers, alleging that 26,386 schools have been shut in the state over the last 10 years and that enrolment in govt schools has fallen by 28 lakh students, including 16 lakh girls.Speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of SP Legislature Party at the party headquarters on Sunday morning, Akhilesh said SP MLAs would raise the issue of school closures and student dropouts in the legislature, along with what he described as plans to demolish Maulana Jauhar Ali University in Rampur, police cases against students protesting campus-related issues, and incidents of examination paper leaks.Focusing on the closure and merger of schools, Akhilesh alleged the move was aimed at weakening access to education for poorer families and limiting opportunities for govt employment. He claimed BJP govt has reduced sanctioned teacher posts for Classes 1 to 8 by 1.40 lakh.Citing district-wise figures, he said the maximum number of primary schools was merged or shut in Lakhimpur Kheri, with 758 affected, followed by Sitapur with 650 and Prayagraj with 638. He also alleged that around 500 schools were shut in the chief minister’s area.Akhilesh said that in 2017, when Samajwadi Party was in power, Uttar Pradesh had 1,13,938 primary schools, and that the number has “steadily reduced” during BJP’s tenure. He alleged the policy reflected an intention to keep the poor away from education.On farming-related issues, Akhilesh pointed to rising costs of seeds and fertilisers, power shortages affecting irrigation, and increasing petrol and diesel prices. He said farmers were struggling to recover the cost of production and were being forced to bear the burden of govt failures.He also raised concerns about ethanol-blended petrol, saying the issue affects owners of two-wheelers and four-wheelers. If ethanol blending improves vehicle efficiency, he said, automobile manufacturers should clearly communicate this through advertisements and product catalogues.Akhilesh further referred to reports of donation theft at Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying it had surprised people. On Maulana Jauhar Ali University, he alleged BJP govt’s intentions were not clear and claimed the state had not built a single govt university in the past 10 years while seeking to demolish the Rampur institution.
