GORAKHPUR: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said technology-driven initiatives such as smart classrooms and digital libraries were helping reduce disparities in education, while artificial intelligence (AI) was poised to bring about a major transformation in the sector.
Addressing a Teachers’ Day programme in Gorakhpur, where he felicitated 81 teachers from the Basic and Secondary Education departments, Adityanath said technology could play a crucial role in ensuring equal educational opportunities.
“Wherever smart classrooms have reached, the divide between city and village has vanished; wherever digital libraries have arrived, the gap between the rich and the poor has been bridged,” he said.
The chief minister said eliminating disparities in education was essential and technology offered an effective means to achieve that objective.
He also underlined the continuing importance of teachers amid the growing use of AI, robotics and drones. Responding to concerns over whether technology could eventually replace educators, Adityanath said teachers would remain indispensable.
A machine can provide answers, but it does not teach one how to ask questions. It is the teacher who teaches how to ask questions
While acknowledging that AI could provide information within seconds that might otherwise take hours to obtain, he said technology could not replace the role of teachers in developing values among students.
“AI cannot impart values; only a teacher can instil values,” he said.
Adityanath also launched a sharp attack on previous governments and the Congress, questioning their record on education in Uttar Pradesh. He said political parties that had governed the state for several terms were now raising questions over an education system that, according to him, had undergone substantial changes since 2017.
Targeting the Samajwadi Party, he alleged that earlier governments had failed to devote adequate resources to strengthening basic and secondary education. He cited expenditure on the Saifai Mahotsav and a Buckingham Palace-style carriage allegedly procured for a birthday celebration, arguing that such funds could instead have been invested in education.
The chief minister said education should remain outside the realm of political considerations and claimed that those viewing the sector through a political prism would fail to recognise the changes made in the state since 2017.
He also alleged that attempts were being made to damage Uttar Pradesh’s image through misinformation. Referring to a video of a dilapidated school building that was allegedly circulated as being from Jhansi despite originating in another state, he said such campaigns overlooked initiatives such as Smart Classes and Operation Kayakalp.
“Our competition is not with those who merely make election-time promises, but with time itself. If we fail the child we are educating, their childhood will never return,” he said, stressing the need to make timely and appropriate decisions for children’s future.
Comparing the present situation with the period before 2017, Adityanath claimed that law and order concerns, curfews and unrest had previously affected the functioning of educational institutions. He said the situation had changed and asserted that festivals could now be held without fear of disruption.
He also alleged that cheating was widespread in examinations before 2017 and that educational institutions and the state’s youth had suffered a poor reputation. According to him, the perception of Uttar Pradesh has since changed, with its youth and teachers now receiving greater respect across the country.
The chief minister said the state government had sought to combine “teacher, talent, and transformation” to strengthen the education system.
Later, the state government said Adityanath personally presented awards to all 81 teachers selected for the State Teacher Award and Chief Minister Teacher Award. As per the scheduled programme, he was originally to honour 10 teachers — five each from the Basic and Secondary Education departments.
The government said the chief minister decided to honour all 81 awardees personally after being briefed about their presence at the event.
Each award-winning teacher received a citation, a symbolic cheque of Rs 25,000 and an idol of Goddess Saraswati, according to the government statement.