Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 4 (ANI): Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that Uttar Pradesh has made a big leap in the field of basic education over the past six years and many schools which were on the verge of closure, have been rejuvenated during the period because of strong will, determined effort, resources, technology and innovation.

Inaugurating the 'Sampark Smartshala-Smart Block' program, a joint initiative of the Basic Education Department and Sampark Foundation, held at Yogiraj Baba Gambhirnath Auditorium, the CM said that the Skilled India Mission with better use of technology is giving great results in improving the quality of education in the state.

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Under the 'Sampark Smartshala-Smart Block' program, 58 council schools in the city area and 68 council schools in Chargawan block were equipped with LED TVs as well as maths and English kits. The CM personally provided Teaching-Learning Material (TLM) kits to the teachers from five schools and also released the magazine of Sampark Foundation.

The Chief Minister said that education is the foundation of society. He also highlighted the situation prior to 2017, where there were insufficient toilets, flooring, and drinking water facilities in the schools of the Basic Education Council.

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With around 1.34 crore children attending about 1.56 lakh schools, there was also a severe shortage of teachers in schools.

To address these issues, the government made a commitment to improve the education system and recruitment, hiring 1.65 lakh teachers from basic and secondary schools in a transparent manner.

The Mission Kayakalp was launched to transform schools, ensuring they had proper infrastructure including furniture, toilets, drinking water, smart classes, libraries, and digital libraries. As a result, 1.36 lakh schools have been rejuvenated and the number of school-going children has increased to 1.91 crore.

CM Yogi emphasized that in the past, children attending basic schools lacked basic facilities, they used to go barefoot with no uniforms. However, today the government is giving them all the basic facilities. Currently, students are given two uniforms, sweaters, shoes, and bags during the winter season.

Also, for providing these facilities, the respective amount is directly transferred to the parents' accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

The Chief Minister said that when he became MLC in 2017, he allocated his entire fund for the construction of furniture and toilets in basic schools of the Gorakhpur urban area. Furthermore, the GDA and Municipal Corporation are also working towards making schools smart. He also emphasized that the People's representatives should visit schools in their respective areas and make necessary arrangements there.

While discussing the importance of technology in the field of education, CM Yogi said that with the effective use of technology, the educational landscape has advanced rapidly. During the challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chief Minister admitted the impact it had on school education but added that with the inspiration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the campaign for Digital India started, ensuring that children's education continued uninterrupted.

The miraculous results of Digital India are being seen at every level and India is in a position to provide leadership, he remarked.

CM Yogi praised the Sampark Foundation for their efforts and commended their role in initiating the Smart Schools. He also focused on highlighting the importance of making education interesting and engaging for students. CM Yogi appreciated that the Sampark Foundation is working towards this goal. He emphasized that by incorporating an emotional connection between teachers and students, the children's enthusiasm for learning will naturally awaken.

The CM further stated the importance of strengthening education as it serves as the foundation of both the country and society. To achieve this, he emphasized the need to integrate education with technology and innovation. He said that after witnessing the result of the smart school, smart block program as a pilot project in Gorakhpur, a plan will be made to implement it in the entire state.

During the event, Yogi also visited the stalls set up by the Basic Education Department for the Nipun Bharat Mission and Sampark Foundation. He interacted with the children and basic schools who were present at the stalls. At the stalls, he inquired about the activities of the Nipun Bharat Mission and the work of the Sampark Foundation and appreciated the innovations in education.MP Ravi Kishan Shukla, Founder and managing director of Sampark Foundation, Vineet Nair and Additional Chief Secretary of Basic Education Deepak Kumar were also present at the occasion. (ANI)

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