Government schools being closed on a large scale

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that it was systematically weakening public education and shutting down thousands of government schools across the country.

In a hard-hitting message posted on his WhatsApp channel, Yadav claimed that the BJP government had "reduced education to rubble" and termed the alleged closure of government schools as a "big conspiracy against the future of our country."

Citing parliamentary proceedings, Yadav said the BJP had admitted in the Rajya Sabha that 18,727 government schools had been closed during its five-year rule. He also alleged that an attempt was made to shut down 27,000 government schools in Uttar Pradesh in the name of "merging" them earlier.

Akhilesh Yadav said, "This is a big conspiracy against the future of our country. Does the BJP and its allies want only the children of the rich to study, while the oppressed and deprived children of the PDA (PDA) community remain illiterate and are forced to become laborers and workers?"

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister accused the BJP of having an "anti-education mindset," saying the government was not only shutting down schools but also failing to ensure the distribution of books and a proper education system.

Yadav further said, "Education creates awareness and scientific thinking among people, which will uproot the BJP's ancient, conservative, narrow-minded, and regressive ideologies. That's why the BJP is against education and science."

He also alleged that many government school teachers were being assigned non-teaching tasks, affecting classroom studies and demoralizing staff. He said, "Dedicated teachers feel they are unable to fulfill their primary duty of teaching, and this has also had a negative impact on the relationship between teachers, students, and parents."

Yadav argued that the closure of government schools would most affect economically weaker and backward classes, particularly those he referred to as the PDA community. He said that apart from education, children would also be deprived of 'mid-day meals,' which would impact their nutrition and overall development.

He stated that depriving children of their right to education was a social crime, and the damage to public education would hurt the PDA community the most. He also warned that the closure of government schools would push families towards private institutions, increasing their financial burden.

He listed expenses such as fees, uniforms, books, transport, projects, and school functions, saying, "If government schools are closed, private schools will start exploiting people, and these expenses will severely affect household income."

Considering education as a major political issue, Yadav said the upcoming elections would be "historic," in which voters, especially women, would play a decisive role. He claimed that even the poorest families - particularly every mother - want their children to be educated. He said women would defeat the BJP this time.

He accused the BJP of taking back more than it gives through limited financial benefits, rising prices, utility bills, and taxes.

Giving the slogan of large-scale awareness, Yadav suggested that the symbolic 'PDA Pathshala campaign' should be turned into a full-fledged movement to protect access to education for future generations. He said, "Let us all unite to save education and secure the future of our children."