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What’s the harm if students help teachers clean school campuses, asks Yogi
Uttar Pradesh chief minister felicitates 102 board exam toppers, honours them with Rs 1 lakh cheques, tablets and medals
What’s wrong if students pick up the broom and clean their school campuses? By doing so, they learn the importance of cleanliness, said Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday at a function organised in Lucknow to felicitate toppers of board examinations.
“I don’t understand what is the harm if children clean their school campuses along with their teachers. Strangely, it becomes news for papers -- as if something wrong was done to the students. I have done cleaning work so many times during my school days,” said the CM.
The occasion was the felicitation of 102 board examination toppers from across the state. The students had topped different boards, including UP Board (high school and intermediate), CBSE (Class 10 and 12), ICSE (Class 10), ISC (Class 12) and Sanskrit Parishad.
Each topper was presented with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a tablet and a certificate of merit, while parents were honoured with a ‘pagdi’ (turban).
Hailing parents’ contribution in the success of their children, the chief minister said, “I always believe that parents are the first teachers (gurus) for their children who learn all the fundamental lessons about values at home. If today, these students have done well, it is because of the sacrifices of their parents. So, along with the children, we also decided to invite their parents on stage and honour them.”
Yogi said the aim of organising felicitation functions was to give a push to quality education. “Other students will get the encouragement to burn the midnight oil and perform well. However, this does not mean that parents put extra pressure on their wards to excel in examinations,” he cautioned.
The CM said that soon after his government came to power, strict measures were implemented to “restore the sanctity of UP Board examinations”.
“Lakhs of ‘students’ left the examination midway. These were people who had nothing to do with the exams. They were ‘Munna Bhais’ who were trying to appear for others to help them pass the examinations,” he said.
Yogi also spoke about his government’s efforts to shorten the duration of UP board exams. “The world’s biggest board examination used to take over three months to conclude. This year, we completed all the papers in 15 working days. We were also the first board to declare the result. It was a big achievement,” he said.
