Yogi Adityanath Accuses Previous UP Government of Scholarship Irregularities

Addressing a scholarship and fee reimbursement programme at the Lok Bhavan auditorium, Adityanath said his government had also cleared scholarship payments that had remained pending before 2017.

He said the government had replaced the earlier system with Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), under which scholarship amounts are deposited directly into the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries. According to the Chief Minister, this was intended to reduce the scope for manipulation in the disbursement process.

During the programme, Adityanath transferred more than Rs 148 crore directly to the accounts of 4,60,559 students.

He said the government had set a target of extending scholarship support to 70 lakh students during the current year. According to figures cited by him, around 69 lakh students received scholarships worth Rs 6,200 crore last year, compared with approximately Rs 2,900 crore before 2017.

The Chief Minister directed officials to ensure that all eligible students receive their scholarships by January 26. He also said nearly four lakh students who could not receive assistance last year because of application or technical problems would be covered through a fresh process.

Adityanath said lack of money should not force any student to discontinue education and maintained that adequate funds were available for timely scholarship payments.

He also advised beneficiaries to use the assistance for educational purposes, particularly by purchasing quality books and building personal book collections.

Highlighting his government's education initiatives, Adityanath said the dropout rate in basic education had been around 19-20 per cent before 2017. He credited Operation Kayakalp with improving school infrastructure through facilities such as toilets, drinking water, furniture, smart classrooms and digital libraries.

The government is also providing assistance for uniforms, school bags, books, footwear and sweaters to around 1.60 crore children enrolled under the Basic Education Council, he said.

Adityanath said Atal Residential Schools were now operational across all 18 divisions, with around 18,000 children from labouring and disadvantaged families enrolled. He also said Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas were functioning in 746 development blocks.

Under Project Alankar, infrastructure and other facilities have been upgraded at more than 2,300 schools, according to the Chief Minister.

Adityanath also highlighted employment and skill-development initiatives, saying around 10 lakh young people had received government jobs in Uttar Pradesh and that the government planned to provide employment to another one lakh youth over the next six months.

He said examinations were being conducted and results announced within the government's recruitment process.

The Chief Minister also spoke about the state's broader development, claiming that Uttar Pradesh had moved away from its earlier classification as a financially weaker state and had become a revenue-surplus economy and an important contributor to national growth. He also criticised the law-and-order situation under governments before 2017, referring to what he described as frequent riots, curfews and incidents of disorder.

On youth development, Adityanath said the government had expanded its coaching programme for competitive examinations and set a target of distributing tablets to two crore young people, with 60 lakh already having received them.

He also announced that 50,000 scooters would be distributed next month to meritorious female students. Under the Chief Minister's Kanya Sumangala Yojana, eligible girls receive financial assistance of up to Rs 25,000.

Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said more than 39 lakh students from minority communities had received scholarships over the past nine years and said the government was focusing on education, healthcare and skill development.

Minister Asim Arun said students who had been left out of scholarship schemes because of technical issues were being brought back into the process through a special campaign.

Minister Narendra Kumar Kashyap said 2,23,615 of the 4,60,559 beneficiaries covered in the latest transfer belonged to backward classes. He added that 36.75 lakh OBC students received scholarships during 2025-26.

Minister of State Danish Azad Ansari said the scholarship process had become more direct, with beneficiaries receiving payments through the current system rather than waiting for separate administrative approvals.