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In the last one week, three FIRs have been lodged against SP leaders and workers.
According to official data, Uttar Pradesh has about 1.32 lakh primary schools for about 1.48 crore children. This year, the government’s school pairing policy was rolled out, wants to merge 10,784 schools with nearby institutions to ‘rationalize resources and ensure better features’. Representative image/gaty
Akhilesh Yadav, while addressing supporters on the birth anniversary of socialist leader Janeshwar Mishra in Lucknow on Tuesday, said, “PDA Pathshala cannot be stopped by the police. The BJP wants OBC and Dalit children to be uneducated.” SP chief’s comment has once again “brought” its partyPda ki pathshala“Initiative in Spotlight. So is the Samajwadi Party 2027 using it as a political plank to consolidate its OBC, Dalit and minority base before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections?
Akhilesh said, “The Chief Minister should visit these schools to see the conditions. The BJP government has admitted that it closes or merge many schools. Until new teachers are appointed, our workers will continue to teach children,” Akhilesh said. He accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of deliberately out of other backward classes (OBCs) and Dalit children from the education system, calling it a conspiracy to weaken their argument ability.
What is ‘pda ki pathshala’?
The PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpskhhyak) Pathshala program was launched by SP as part of its restructuring policy to merge more than 10,700 primary schools in protest against the state government’s decision to merge. The party claims that instead of improving quality, the move has deprived children in marginalized communities by access to basic education. SP cadres and local leaders have been branded them as Classes -Inside Class -in Schools, in the nearby grounds, and sometimes under trees -PDA Pathshalas.
After the video of these sections aired on social media, the initiative gained momentum, in which children were being taught by SP workers. While the party says that it is filling a vacuum left by the government, the ruling BJP has hit it back, called it a “social brainwashing” of innocent brains.
UP government’s school merger policy
According to official data, Uttar Pradesh has about 1.32 lakh primary schools for about 1.48 crore children. The government’s school pairing policy, rolled out this year, tries to “rationalize resources and ensure better features” with nearby institutions. The Department of Basic Education said that many schools with low enrollment are better used if merged with large institutions, where students can benefit from better infrastructure, trained employees and digital teaching resources.
However, critics say the merger has left hundreds of villages without schools, forcing children – especially from poor families – to travel long distances, increase the dropout rate.
Crackdown on PDA Pathshalas
The state government has responded with heavy hand. In the last one week, three FIRs against SP leaders and workers have been registered to run PDA Pathshalas without permission.
In Pratapgarh, an FIR was lodged against SP MLA RK Verma for allegedly breaking the lock of a merged school and conducting classes with political posters and banners. In Kanpur, party leader Rachana Singh Gautam was booked for “spreading rumors” about closing the school and holding classes outside its premises. Similarly, in Bhadohi, SP worker Anjani Saroj was accused of distributing toffee and pencils to woo children to participate in an unauthorized class. Police said the cases were registered under allegations including criminal trespasses, illegal assembly and public property damage.
Officials of the Department of Primary Education have directed the district BSA to monitor schools regularly and initiate strict legal action against unauthorized educational activities, an attempt to disrupt social harmony.
UP minister defends merger
Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Minister Sandeep Singh said that the objective of the government’s school merger program was to increase educational quality, not to deprive children of learning opportunities.
He said, “Opposition is misleading people. No child has been denied education. On the contrary, merger of small schools with low enrollment ensures better teaching, proper classes and effective monitoring. The education cannot turn the education into a political battlefield,” he said.
Explaining its stance, the state government on Thursday announced that primary schools with 50 or more students would not be merged, and people located more than one kilometer from the nearest school would remain independent. The minister further assured that there will be no shortage in the number of posts of teachers.
Experts weigh
Shashikant Pandey, the leading political analyst of the Department of Political Sciences at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, said that the PDA pathway issue reflects a major fight on the election narratives.
“SP is consciously preparing the issue of merger through the lens of social justice, trying to tell OBCs and Dalits that their children’s future is at stake. It is not only about schools – it is about consolidating the PDA block for 2027. Is, “He said.
Another political expert said that the initiative fits the SP’s broad PDA strategy. He said, “By highlighting the closure of the school and connecting them to backward and Dalit communities, the SP is making sure that the debate reaches the ground level. Education is an emotional issue, and the party hopes that the story will stick by 2027,” he said.
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