Closing 10k primary schools BJP's ploy to deprive poor kids of edu: Akhilesh

Lucknow: Describing the state government's decision to shut over 10,000 primary schools a conspiracy of the BJP to deprive poor children of education, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said it was an irony that the government that spends billions of rupees on its publicity cannot spare a fraction of the amount to keep 10000 the primary schools operational.

The move will have a direct impact on the education of girls from poor families, Akhilesh said. There was an urgent need to encourage the parents in poor families to send their daughters to school. Now, sending minor girls to primary schools situated several kilometres away from their villages will only come as a discouragement for the parents who don't have enough to spend on arranging transport for their children, Akhilesh said.

"Poor people in general and those from the PDA – comprising Pichhde (Backward castes) Dalits and Alpsankhyak (Minorities) - will be worst affected by the BJP government 's decision to shut 10, 000 primary schools. But perhaps the government wants the children from poor families to stay uneducated, so that they don't seek employment or question the wrong policies of the BJP government," the former UP CM said.

"BJP is out to deprive the poor of the basic needs like livelihood, education of children and employment. These aspects have never been on the BJP's agenda. Children from poor families study at these primary schools. By shutting down over 10,000 such schools, the government will make education more inaccessible for the children coming from the vicinity of these schools which are being closed," Akhilesh said.

The former UP CM said it was a pity that the BJP spends billions of rupees on publicity of government schemes but cannot spare a small fraction of it on the education of these poor children. The SP chief accused the BJP of drafting policies which will push the state backwards by spoiling its future. "BJP does not want to answer questions that people are asking. They want to keep the population, particularly children, illiterate. Once the SP government is formed, the entire education system of the state will be overhauled to improve the standard of education in all aspects, Akhilesh said.

Senior SP functionary Prof Sudhir Panwar said merger of primary schools was against the very spirit of right to education and universalisation of primary education.

"The BJP government seems determined to ensure that the entire education sector is eventually passed on into private hands. The government is systematically destroying the education sector by appointing incompetent officials in the regulatory bodies of the education sector," Panwar said.