Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday lauded ‘Operation Kayakalp’, which was launched to give government schools a facelift, and said almost 60 lakh new students were admitted to Basic Education Council schools in six years.

Interacting with schoolchildren during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popular annual ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ programme, Adityanath said before 2017, children were forced to go to schools barefoot but now they wear proper uniforms and carry school bags.

The Uttar Pradesh government, under the UP Free School Uniform Scheme, has started a direct bank transfer (DBT) process of Rs 1,200 to parents of 1.91 crore children to buy uniforms, sweaters, shoes, socks, school bags and stationery items for their wards.

According to a statement issued by the state government, innovative efforts like the ‘Skill India Mission’ will give a momentum to the campaign to bring about a further change in the state of education in Uttar Pradesh.

The chief minister attended the programme from the Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey UP Sainik School in Lucknow along with students.

Addressing the parents of students going to take the Class 10 and 12 board examinations, he said children should not be unduly pressured to score high marks as it could have a damaging impact on them.

“Students should be encouraged for a healthy competition, but they should not be pressured for more marks. Often due to the stress arising out of the pressure, children are unable to perform well in exams,” the chief minister remarked.

He also honoured meritorious students on the occasion. A total of 1,698 students from various secondary boards were awarded Rs 1 lakh, tablets, citations and copies of the book ‘Exam Warriors’ authored by Prime Minister Modi.

Adityanath said the state government was paying special attention to the education of the girl child under the Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana.