Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, speaking at the Panchayat Aaj Tak programme, highlighted education and employment as two key pillars of the state’s development, asserting that his government has worked to expand opportunities for the state’s youth.
Pointing to the changing education landscape in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi spoke about initiatives such as PM SHRI schools and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) and Atal Awasiya Vidyalay, saying they are helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds gain access to better infrastructure, technology and learning opportunities.
Yogi also highlighted the government’s record on employment, saying 9.5 lakh government jobs have been provided to young people in the state, which he described as the highest number of government jobs provided by any state in India.
“The transparency in recruitment and a fair selection process have changed the lives of these youths as well as their families. It has also helped rebuild the trust of young people in the state government,” he said.
The Chief Minister further linked the expansion of education infrastructure with the government’s broader focus on upskilling and creating more opportunities for young people.
“Upskilling and creating more opportunities for the youth are happening alongside the transformation in education infrastructure,” he said, underlining the government’s long-term vision of equipping young people with better education, skills and employment opportunities.
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Uttar Pradesh currently has 1,888 schools selected under the PM SHRI scheme, according to the latest Ministry of Education data based on UDISE+ 2025-26.
The scale of the state’s KGBV network is also significant. Uttar Pradesh has 746 Kasturba Gandhi residential girls’ schools, primarily aimed at bringing disadvantaged, out-of-school and never-enrolled girls into the education system. The state government says around 78,552 girls are enrolled in these schools against a capacity of 79,600.
Adityanath also pointed to the growing emphasis on innovation and hands-on learning in schools. Uttar Pradesh has 955 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs), according to government data.
The labs are designed to encourage curiosity, creativity and innovation among students through exposure to areas such as design thinking, computational thinking and physical computing. Across India, more than 10,000 ATLs have been established, with over 1.1 crore students engaged with the programme.
In Uttar Pradesh, PM SHRI schools have been developed with facilities including ICT labs, smart classrooms, vocational training, Bal Vatika sections, additional classrooms, playgrounds and toilets, according to the state government.
Employment was another major focus of the Chief Minister’s remarks. Adityanath highlighted his government’s record on government recruitment and said that around 9.5 lakh government jobs have been provided during his tenure.
He linked employment with the aspirations of the state’s youth, arguing that young people primarily want good education, employment and opportunities to build a better future.
At the same time, Adityanath used the education and employment debate to attack the previous Samajwadi Party government, contrasting his administration’s focus on recruitment and educational infrastructure with what he portrayed as shortcomings under the earlier government.
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