No more holidays for UP schoolchildren on Gandhi Jayanti? CM Yogi Adityanath's new plan will leave kids fuming

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that schools in his state will no longer be closed on the occasion of birth and death anniversaries of great men and social leaders. Instead special programmes showcasing the greatness of the leaders will be held to educate schoolchildren.

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"It is not a great idea to close schools on the occasion of birth or death anniversaries of great people. In fact, many times, children don't even know why the school has been closed. This defeats the purpose of commemorating a holiday on the occasion," the UP CM said.

Adityanath made this announcement at an event on the occasion of the 126th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar on Friday (April 14).

He said that special programmes on great leaders should be held because children need to be inspired by the leaders. Adityanath even took the example of Baba Saheb and said, "The struggle and journey of Baba Sahab Ambedkar is a story that has inspired many generations and will continue to do the same in future as well."

According to the UP CM, keeping the schools closed on holidays hampers the opportunity for students to learn. "Rule books say that schools should have 220 working days, but the target is rarely achieved because of too many holidays. This leaves the teachers with about 130-140 working days which is not enough for students to learn," Adityanath said.

Adityanath added that the BJP government, contrary to popular perception, was rather focusing on mainstream sections of society that have been left behind in the race for development and that he would not allow any discrimination under his rule.