The schools in Kanpur were closed because they could not meet the 19 basic infrastructure requirements of Operation Kayakalp (representative image)
The 101 government primary schools in Kanpur that closed mid-year this year were operating from rented premises
About 101 primary schools in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh have been closed in the past week and further merged with other government schools. This situation has left approximately more than 3,000 children (grades 1 to 5) and several teachers, along with parents, in a state of chaos and confusion. The schools in Kanpur were closed because they could not meet the 19 basic infrastructure requirements of Operation Kayakalp, according to Careers360 reports.
Operation Kayakalp is a program launched by the government headed by Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh. Yogi Adityanath launched the Operation Kayakalp program in the year 2018. It was introduced to boost proper infrastructure and build smart classrooms in public schools.
According to the program, the 19 basic amenities include toilets, drinking water supply, proper construction of classrooms and many others. However, many schools lacked such facilities, while others dealt with lawsuits that took place between landlords and the office of the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA). The 101 public primary schools in Kanpur that closed mid-year this year operated from rented premises.
In November 2022, a 13-member committee was formed by the Yogi Adityanath-led government to accelerate the merger of these schools into a school operating from government-owned buildings. The 101 schools were then notified of the shift in December 2022. This merger is currently causing a disruption of classes for many schools, especially in the middle of the school year.
“Students are harassed because of this,” says a teacher at a primary school in Prem Nagar, Kanpur. “The majority of these students are low-income, their parents are rickshaw pullers or laborers,” the teacher added, the publication reported.
Reports also suggest that several children have been sent to schools 1 to 2 km away from their neighbourhood. Meanwhile, the Right to Education Act states that the state government must provide a primary school within one kilometer of each residential area and a senior secondary school within 3 km of it, a senior teacher reported.
Teachers of those selected schools are quite concerned about the impact on children’s learning because of the chaos. They also shared their concern about the students who have no means of transportation or money to come to school every day.
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