UP orders overhaul of residential schools; officials told to track complaints amid 'Gen Alpha Protests'

After the students of Jai Prakash Narayan Sarvodaya Balika Vidyalaya staged a protest, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed an overhaul of the residential schools' operations and to expedite the recruitment process of teachers against vacant posts. The state government has also directed the officials to track complaints on social media and address the issues faced by students in government schools, reports suggest.

UP CM chaired a review meeting of the social welfare department along with other officials and directed them to establish rules for the schools and take steps to set up a society to ensure more systematic functioning of the institutions.

The review meeting comes after the state witnessed a series of ‘Gen Alpha Protests’ in recent weeks, with students taking to the streets and approaching district collectorates to demand basic amenities and infrastructure improvements

School students staged protests in Lucknow, Kannauj, Unnao, Fatehpur, Hamirpur, Mahoba, and Azamgarh, among other places.

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Scan complaints, 14-point checklist

According to the Indian Express report, the UP education department has issued a 14-point checklist and has also instructed officials to track complaints on social media handles and verify if it is genuine

Furthermore, the checklist for school includes inspecting whether essential facilities such as clean drinking water, functional toilets, electricity, cleanliness, food, and safety are available.

The government has directed officials to ensure that students receive uniforms, teachers attend school regularly, and teaching-learning activities take place without disruption.

The department has also highlighted cleanliness concerns and waterlogging during the monsoon. As per the directive, the development department teams have been directed to inspect school premises, with any deficiencies identified during the inspections to be rectified at the local level.

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Mid-day meals, safety at girls' school

As per the IE report, officials have been asked to ensure that students are receiving good-quality mid-day meals under the PM Poshan scheme. The move comes after several videos from UP schools went viral , revealing poor-quality food being served to children.

Significantly, for Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, the government has directed additional checks, including a secure environment, availability of women security guards, and hygienic toilets, apart from other basic needs.

Why is ‘Gen Alpha’ protesting in UP?

In Lucknow, students raised concerns, including over the 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.

Following this, during the meeting, it 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.

CM has directed officials to expedite the process of filling vacant teaching posts and ensure adequate human resources as per students' academic requirements.

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Facilities for students preparing for competitive exams

While reviewing the ‘Mukhyamantri Abhyudaya Yojana’, CM emphasised the need to expand its reach so that students preparing for competitive exams receive guidance.

Adityanath directed officials to use the resources available and ensure that more students benefit from the experience of the teachers and experts, according to the statement.

The Yojana scheme is currently being run through 163 centres across all 75 districts of the state. The centres have 1,783 empanelled teachers and 23,801 students registered for exams such as UPSC, PCS, NEET, JEE and NDA/CDS, it stated. Moreover, four centres of Excellence are also being operated under the scheme, the CM’s office posted on its X account.

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Scholarship application reopens on September 1

Reviewing the latest status of scholarship distribution, the CM has instructed officials to ensure students receive the benefit on time.

He ordered that the application portal be reopened on September 1 for students who were left out of the pre-matric and post-matric scholarship schemes , and also directed that the scholarship amounts be transferred by October 2.

CM called for speedy resolution of technical and procedural difficulties affecting scholarship distribution so that students receive the benefits on time.

Officials said arrangements were underway to provide an opportunity to around 3.16 lakh students who were left out of scholarship benefits for various reasons. The beneficiaries include 31,836 students from government institutions, 69,631 from aided institutions, and 2,46,426 from private institutions.