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Register FIRs over misleading videos about schools, colleges: Yogi
Taking strong exception to misleading information, Yogi says on-the spot inquiry should be conducted about mid-day meals and the condition of toilets for boys and girls
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday gave directives for registering first information reports (FIRs) against those spreading misinformation about schools and colleges through misleading videos.
Taking strong exception to misleading information, he said an on-the spot inquiry should be conducted about mid-day meals and the condition of toilets for boys and girls. He said the students should get better facilities and an educational environment. He asked the district magistrates for regular inspection of schools.
He gave directions in a meeting of senior officers of the state government and those posted in the field.
Recently, district education officers issued orders prohibiting the entry of outsiders, including YouTubers, into government-run primary and upper primary schools across the state to ensure smooth functioning of teaching and learning activities.
The step followed a series of viral videos of poor quality mid-day meals served to students in some UP government schools.
The directives had coincided with the CJP’s (Cockroach Janta Party) nationwide #SchoolThikKaro (fix the government schools) campaign on social media to improve government schools, as well as student protests over poor school facilities in different parts of UP over the last two weeks.
Later, a number of district education officers (basic shiksha adhikaris or BSAs) in Uttar Pradesh amended their earlier orders and issued revised circulars directing schools to allow parents and the members of school management committees to visit schools and enquire into any details related to the institutions and progress of their wards.
In a letter issued on Wednesday, chief secretary S P Goyal directed divisional commissioners and district magistrates to ensure better infrastructure, cleanliness and educational facilities in government schools and maintain regular communication with students and parents.
In view of waterlogging and cleanliness issues during the rainy season, the chief secretary directed officials to conduct special cleanliness drives on school campuses and ensure availability of water in toilets, regular teaching, functional kitchen sheds and electrical equipment.
Officials were directed to coordinate with other departments to improve road connectivity to schools, provide drainage and ensure safe shifting of high-tension/low-tension electrical lines passing over school buildings.
Goyal asked officials to ensure implementation and monitoring of measures covering basic and secondary education institutions across the state.
The directives include ensuring clean drinking water, separate toilets for boys and girls, hand-washing facilities, functional electricity connections and equipment, kitchen sheds, boundary walls and mid-day meal kitchens in schools.
Under the PM Poshan scheme, officials have been directed to ensure that students receive quality meals regularly.
The letter further directs officials to promptly verify complaints received through social media and other platforms and take action against accounts spreading misleading information.
Meanwhile, in a series of posts on X, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh claimed that the ongoing ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign exposed the condition of government schools in Ayodhya district. He appealed to citizens in Uttar Pradesh to make videos of the poor condition of a government school near them and send it to a given phone number.
In another post, Singh shared a purported photo of a primary school in Sonupara Jaisinghpur, Sultanpur. His post read that AAP workers visited the school and claimed to have exposed the poor education system.
