Money spent on Saifai Mahotsav and the buggy could have transformed the future of lakhs of children: CM Yogi
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addresses State Teachers' Award distribution ceremony on Teachers' Day
81 teachers from Basic and Secondary Education Departments awarded, all receive awards at the hands of CM
Teachers should promote healthy competition for excellence and innovation: CM Yogi
Attempt being made to defame UP by running videos from other states: Chief Minister
Events were organized across the state on Shri Krishna Janmashtami, but you would not have heard of riots or curfew anywhere: CM Yogi
Gorakhpur, September 2026 : Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "There should be no place for politics in education. Those who view things through the lens of politics would not be able to see the radical transformation that has taken place in the state's education system after 2017."
He called upon teachers across the state to promote healthy competition for excellence and innovation in the education system. This healthy competition will shape the future of the state and the country.
CM Yogi was addressing the State Teachers' Award and Chief Minister's Teachers' Award distribution ceremony for Basic and Secondary Education on Saturday on Teachers' Day. At the ceremony organized at Yogiraj Baba Gambhirnath Auditorium in Gorakhpur, 61 teachers from the Basic Education Department and 20 teachers from the Secondary Education Department, a total of 81 teachers, were awarded.
The Chief Minister personally presented the awards to all the teachers. While presenting the awards, CM Yogi interacted warmly with the teachers, congratulated them, and also encouraged them.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister discussed in detail the positive changes that have taken place in the education system over the past nine and a half years. He said, "Strengthening the Basic and Secondary Education systems could have been done even before 2017. However, the governments of that time did not pay attention. Taking a jibe, he said, "The amount of money you used to spend on the Saifai Mahotsav, if you had diverted even a little of that money towards education, the future of lakhs of children would have been secured. The amount of money you spent bringing a Buckingham buggy to celebrate your birthday, if you had spent that much money on education, the future of children would have been secured and there would have been no crisis of identity."
Taking a strong dig at those who do politics over education, the Chief Minister stated, "Making election promises is one thing, but creating smart classes and digital libraries is difficult, and this is visible in the state today. Making statements is easy, but transferring money through DBT into the accounts of 1.60 crore children is difficult, and we have completed this. It was difficult to connect children from Class 6 of Sanskrit education up to the Acharya level with scholarships, but the government did that as well. Bringing transformation to Basic and Secondary schools through Project Alankar and Operation Kayakalp was challenging, but we've accomplished this too. Commenting is very easy, but doing it is difficult."
CM Yogi also drew attention to the propaganda being spread to defame UP. He said, "A video of a dilapidated school building in another state was circulated by claiming it was from Jhansi. Those who criticize UP's education sector should recognize the extensive changes brought about through smart classes and Operation Kayakalp. But our competition is not with those who make election promises; it is with time. If there is any lapse with the child you are teaching, that childhood will never return."
He further said, "Therefore, there should be a habit of taking the right decision, in the right direction, at the right time. Maintaining confidence in education is the collective responsibility of the government and teachers. We cannot remain silent about changing technology. We need to prepare ourselves in accordance with AI, robotics and drone technology."
The Chief Minister said, "Those who were allowed to govern the state four times, and the Congress, which was allowed to govern UP for nearly six decades, are both attempting to raise questions over the changing system of the state. The old dilapidated buildings were, in fact, their memorials, which we have replaced, yet they are raising questions about the education system. The double-engine government is fully committed to making the education system more exclusive, better resourced, and transparent. There would hardly be any teacher who has not witnessed the transformation of Uttar Pradesh from 9 years ago to today."
He further informed, "Before 2017, schools and colleges could not even be imagined functioning amid an atmosphere of disturbances, curfew, riots and anarchy. Now, there is no crisis anywhere. No one can create disturbances before a festival. Yesterday was Janmashtami. Events were organized at all 1,586 police stations, in Dev temples, in the police lines of all 75 districts, in all jails, and in every locality and village, but you would not have heard even the mention of curfew or riots anywhere."
CM Yogi said that in today's Uttar Pradesh, no one raises questions over teachers. Whereas before 2017, cheating was conducted on contract. Schools and colleges had become centers of cheating. The youth faced a crisis of identity, and the state with India's largest population appeared to be in the dock. People did not want to come to Uttar Pradesh. Other states viewed our youth and teachers with suspicion. But now, our youth and teachers are respected everywhere. The perception of UP has changed. Teachers are important carriers of this transformation, and a disciple becoming competent and cultured is the greatest guru dakshina."
The Chief Minister stated, "Teacher, Talent and Transformation were brought together to make the education system effective in the state. This Triple-T focuses on respecting teachers, providing quality education to students and ensuring the availability of resources. The government has increased the honorarium of Shikshamitras to ₹18,000 and that of instructors to ₹17,000. A cashless health facility of ₹5 lakh and social security have also been guaranteed. All teachers, non-teaching employees and their families associated with Basic, Secondary and Higher Education have been provided with a cashless health facility of ₹5 lakh per year."
He added, saying, "For the first time, a guarantee of social security has been provided. We believe those who shape children's future should be respected first. The State Teachers' Award has been increased from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000. We've developed a Human Resource Management Portal to ensure transparency in service matters. We've taken several steps to ensure quality education. The Nipun Bharat Mission is yielding good results and will now continue up to Class 5."
The Chief Minister informed, "In Secondary Education alone, more than ₹1,500 crore has been made available for constructing new buildings in place of old and dilapidated school buildings. As a result, more than 2,100 good buildings have been constructed. In the first phase, two CM Composite Schools are being constructed in every district. We're working to implement this at the tehsil level. Its model will be like a day school on the lines of Atal Awasiya Vidyalaya, where children from Class 1 to 12 will be able to study on an integrated campus. Today, schools in UP have smart classes, digital libraries, separate toilets for boys and girls, pure drinking water facilities, and adequate electricity."
He added, "Smart classes have been provided in more than 32,000 schools, ICT labs in more than 15,000 schools, digital libraries in 1,129 schools, and tablets have been provided to more than 2,61,000 teachers. The entire country is watching Uttar Pradesh's education model. Efforts towards creating clean and green schools have resulted in 12 schools of Uttar Pradesh receiving national awards in 2025-26."
The Chief Minister said schools in the state are being prepared to provide training in advanced technologies such as robotics, 3D printing, and Artificial Intelligence to develop 21st-century skills, digital literacy, and an approach to innovation among students. Where smart classes have reached, the distinction between cities and villages has ended. Where digital libraries have reached, the distinction between the poor and the rich has ended. Technology is the simplest means of ending discrimination.
He stated, "In Secondary Education, 56 lakh children appear for the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations. Before 2017, examinations continued for three months, and it took another 3 months to declare the results. Due to this delay, children from UP were unable to secure admission anywhere outside UP. Today, examinations are conducted on time, and results are also declared on time."
CM Yogi said that even with the increasing use of technology, no machine can replace a teacher. A machine can provide an answer, but a machine cannot teach how to ask a question. Only a teacher can teach the art of asking questions. AI cannot impart values; a teacher does. The future of UP and the country is in the hands of teachers. The child you are teaching today will become a teacher, doctor, lawyer, administrative officer, scientist, engineer, and even a leader of the country tomorrow. The values and discipline you give the child will determine how the child remembers you.
The Chief Minister remembered former President Sarvepalli Dr Radhakrishnan and extended Teachers' Day greetings to the people of the state. Describing Bharat Ratna Dr Radhakrishnan as a highly distinguished scholar and great philosopher, he said, "His birth anniversary is celebrated as Teachers' Day. While referring to the role of teachers/gurus, the Chief Minister also recalled the contributions of Ved Vyas, Chanakya, Sushruta, Charaka, Aryabhatta and others."
At the ceremony, Minister of State for Secondary Education (Independent Charge) Gulab Devi said that education and teachers are among Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's special priorities.
She said he is always ready to support the welfare and well-being of teachers. Under this initiative, teachers, Shikshamitras, instructors, and cooks have been provided several facilities, including cashless treatment. Under CM Yogi's guidance, the UP Board has presented the finest example of integrity and transparency in examinations. There has been no incident such as a paper leak in board examinations in recent years; examinations have been conducted without cheating, and results have been declared in record time.
Welcoming CM Yogi at the ceremony, Minister of State for Basic Education (Independent Charge) Sandeep Singh said that for the past 9 years, under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the government has been continuously working for the respect and welfare of teachers. Significant progress has been made in basic education. Education has been connected with digital technology and made suitable for the present and the future.
He stated that, for our government, education is not politics but a means of nation- and society-building. As part of the new changes, 150 Chief Minister Model Schools, two per district, are being constructed across the state at a cost of ₹4,500 crore to provide quality education from pre-primary to Class 12. The Yogi government has always remained sensitive to the problems of teachers, Shikshamitras and instructors.
Under the Chief Minister's leadership, we have taken historic decisions to provide cashless medical facilities and socio-economic security to teachers, increase the honorarium of Shikshamitras and instructors, and honor them through large-scale ceremonies. Recently, the honorarium of cooks and the amount provided for uniforms were increased, and cashless medical scheme cards were distributed. An MoU has been signed with a bank to provide accident insurance as a form of economic and social security.
On this occasion, State Government Fisheries Department Minister Sanjay Nishad, Mayor Dr Manglesh Srivastava, MLC and BJP State Vice President Dr Dharmendra Singh, MLC Dhruv Tripathi, MLAs Shriram Chauhan, Fateh Bahadur Singh, Rajesh Tripathi, Vipin Singh, Mahendrapal Singh, Dr Vimlesh Paswan, Pradeep Shukla, Sarvan Nishad, State Women's Commission Vice Chairperson Charu Chaudhary, Additional Chief Secretary Basic and Secondary Education Parthasarathi Sen Sharma, BJP District President Janardan Tiwari, Metropolitan President Ramesh Pratap Gupta and others were prominently present.
The Chief Minister inspected the stalls set up at the venue by the Basic Education, Secondary Education, and Child Development and Nutrition departments. At the Basic Education stall, he sought detailed information about Learn by Doing, Inclusive Education, and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya; at the Secondary Education Department stall, about the Atal Tinkering Lab. The Chief Minister also encouraged the teachers and students present at the stalls.
