UP CM Yogi Adityanath ends practice of school holidays for birth and death anniversaries of leaders

On Friday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that there would be no more school holidays on the birth and death anniversaries of historical figures, leaders and social leaders according to media reports. [caption id=“attachment_3384188” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. PTI[/caption] The Times of India reported that the chief minister, speaking at a programme held to mark the 126th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, said that instead of granting children holidays, special programmes would be conducted to educate children about the greatness of leaders. “It is not a great idea to close schools on the occasion of birth or death anniversaries of great people. In fact, many times, children don’t even know why the school has been closed. This defeats the purpose of commemorating a holiday on the occasion,” Adityanath said. The chief minister added that children must be given an opportunity to be inspired by India’s great leaders. Adityanath cited the example of Ambedkar, and said his struggle should inspire future generations. The chief minister added that keeping schools closed on various occasions went against the interest of the children. “Rule books say that schools should have 220 working days but the target is rarely achieved because of too many holidays. This leaves the teachers with about 130-140 working days, which is not enough for students to learn,” he said.