Hans News Service Lucknow

UttarPradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday called for a comprehensive overhaul of the management and functioning of Jai Prakash Narayan Sarvodaya residential schools and directed officials to expedite the recruitment of teachers against vacant posts, officials said.

Chairing a review meeting of the Social Welfare Department in the presence of Minister Asim Arun, Adityanath directed officials to frame clear rules for the schools and initiate steps for setting up a society to ensure more systematic management and functioning of the institutions, according to an official statement.

The review meeting comes as Uttar Pradesh witnessed a series of Gen Alpha student protests in recent weeks, with schoolchildren taking to the streets and even approaching district collectorates to press for basic amenities, infrastructure improvements and other demands in Lucknow, Kannauj, Unnao, Fatehpur,Hamirpur, Mahoba and Azamgarh, among other places. In Lucknow, students raised concerns, including over shortage of teachers in government-run residential schools twice within a week, by blockading road traffic amid rains.

The chief minister sought information on the availability of teachers and other staff, facilities being provided to students and the overall management of the schools, the statement said. The meeting was informed that the number of the Social Welfare Department-run Jai Prakash Narayan Sarvodaya schools in Uttar Pradesh has increased from 93 before 2017 to 103 in 2025-26. Of these, 59 are affiliated with the CBSE and 44 with the Uttar Pradesh Board, it stated. Adityanath directed officials to speed up the process of filling vacant teaching posts and ensure adequate human resources in accordance with students’ academic requirements. Further, the chief minister also directed officials to verify applications of eligible elderly people who have not yet received old-age pension and ensure that they are brought under the scheme at the earliest. “Eligible elderly people should not have to wait unnecessarily,” he said, stressing that the process from verification of applications to sanctioning of pension should be completed within a stipulated timeframe.

The meeting was informed that the number of beneficiaries under the National Old Age Pension Scheme has increased from 37.47 lakh in 2017-18 to 67.50 lakh in 2025-26. Around 11.50 lakh new applications are currentlypending.