Most school children in UP do not read newspapers, admit teachers and parents

After Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath advised students to read books and newspapers daily, it came to light that most of the students from prestigious English medium schools in the state, studying in Classes VIII, IX and X do not read newspapers. They do not even know the names of the leading newspapers, as reported by ANI on June 23, Thursday.

"After Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath interacted with a group of toppers in Classes X and XII on Wednesday (June 22) and asked them if they read newspapers, we decide to ask the same question to our students and the results were shocking. In Class X, out of 42 children, only three said that they read 'some headlines'. They said that they focused on puzzles in the newspapers," said a teacher in an English-medium school.

"In many households, since the pandemic, newspapers are not being bought. People rely on TV and mobile apps for news. The children are the biggest sufferers because they are no longer encouraged to read and brush up on their general knowledge," another teacher explained, commenting on the reason behind the lack of the children's knowledge about the names of the newspapers that their families get.

The teachers also stated that the students spent their spare time chatting and playing games online, rather than reading books or borrowing them from the library. They also told that many students from these classes were shockingly unaware of the Russia-Ukraine war and did not know what CAA-NCR meant, as per the ANI report.

A parent, Sumitra Rawat, whose three daughters study in Classes VI, VIII and X in a local school, said, "During the pandemic, my husband's salary was reduced and prices went up. We had to cut corners and we stopped buying newspapers. The children have their mobiles and we encourage them to read news online but their time is spent on studies."

Her father-in-law, DK Rawat, a retired government employee, lamented that the new generation had given up on reading habits. "In our times, we were made to read newspapers, in fact, we read them out aloud so that pronunciation mistakes could be corrected — books too. Today, my grandchildren do not even read story books," he said, as reported by ANI.

CM Adityanath had interacted with meritorious students on June 22 at his residence. He had asked them to read the newspaper, be up to date about the government schemes and also advised them to read books. The CM had additionally told the students to wake up early in the morning and engage in sports activities to have a healthy body and mind.