Varanasi, April 4: On the second and final day of his Varanasi visit, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the statewide ‘School Chalo’ campaign from Composite School, Shivpur, emphasizing that education is not merely about degrees but a vital force to instill values and shape society and the nation.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the School Chalo Abhiyan 2026 on Saturday at the Composite School in Shivpur, Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh
During the event, the Chief Minister also released a booklet on educational innovations and achievements.
Chief Minister Yogi said that all the teachers in the Basic and Secondary Education Departments have worked hard, taking Operation Kayakalp to new heights, and making efforts at every level. Operation Kayakalp has provided more than 136,000 schools with basic facilities. Through Operation Nipun, children’s curiosity about general education has increased, and they have acquired knowledge of letters and numbers. This was possible only because of the hard work and dedication of our Education Department officials and our teachers. It is our job to nurture children’s curiosity
Recalling the year 2017, the Chief Minister said that our government launched the “School Chalo Abhiyan” on July 1st. Before that, he had the opportunity to visit various districts of the state. He witnessed the dilapidated condition of the Basic Education Department’s buildings and the situation of schools on the verge of closure.
Chief Minister specifically mentioned one school where he visited, where the principal told him that the number of children in his school is continuously decreasing. There are now fewer than 10 children left, and these children may not even come in the new session. He asked the principal where these children are going, and he replied, “The children have no interest in studying.” Then he told him, “Either the children have no interest in studying, or you have no interest in teaching.” The Chief Minister said, “It is our job to nurture children’s curiosity.” If teachers fulfill this responsibility well, the results will be better.
Chief Minister said that education was not on the agenda of the then government. No one was concerned about poor children. People used to cheat. They cheated so that they would not be able to study in their schools. Remember, we have to achieve social and economic equality. If we are to truly implement the goal of social justice, we must educate everyone.
Chief Minister said that, inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, all schools in the state have separate toilets and drinking water facilities for boys and girls. The dropout rate has decreased from 19 percent to three percent. We have to bring it to zero percent.
Chief Minister said that in Uttar Pradesh, we spend more than 80 thousand crore rupees on school education. This must yield results; this money is given to achieve results. Teachers and basic education officials are the drivers of results. You worked hard, the government stands with you.
Chief Minister Yogi said that this time we allocated money for Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya in the budget. There was no space for laborers and destitute children, so we started Atal Residential Schools for laborers and destitute children.
He explained that a six-year-old child will be admitted to the first grade, but what will children between three and six years old do? The work of creating pre-primary schools for them in every Anganwadi center is progressing on a war footing. We have arranged funds.
At the event, the Chief Minister honored five skilled schools, five skilled children, and five new entrants in the district. Students had also set up 12 stalls on the school premises for this campaign, which the Chief Minister inspected.
State Minister of Basic Education (Independent Charge) Sandeep Singh said that no child should be deprived of education. To this end, officials have been instructed to go door-to-door to contact parents and enroll children. The first phase of the “School Chalo” campaign will run until April 15th, and the second phase will run from July 1 to July 15.
State Minister of State for Basic Education (Independent Charge) Sandeep Singh, Varanasi’s Joint Director of Education Dinesh Singh, AD Basic Hemant Rao, District Basic Education Officer Anurag Srivastava, etc. were also present at the program.