BSP chief Mayawati on Friday welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to develop 14,429 primary schools as “smart schools”, but said basic infrastructure such as chairs, benches and toilets must be ensured before introducing “smart education”.
The Bahujan Samaj Party chief was reacting to the state Cabinet’s decision on Tuesday to approve a proposal to develop 14,429 primary schools under the Basic Education Council as smart schools. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
In a post on X in Hindi, Mayawati described the plan to convert nearly 14,500 schools at a cost of around Rs 300 crore as a “positive step”. However, she said the government must first ensure basic facilities, including proper school buildings, benches, chairs, books, toilets, playgrounds and cleanliness.
She also questioned whether all these requirements could be met with an allocation of about Rs 2 lakh per school, urging the government to consider the issue sympathetically.
Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna had described the proposal as a significant step towards improving education and said Rs 300 crore had been allocated for the initiative.
Under the scheme, each of the 14,429 schools will receive Rs 2.07 lakh. Khanna said the smart schools would have facilities including internet connectivity and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) labs.
(With inputs from PTI)