UP government cancels 15 holidays marking birth, death anniversaries

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government today cancelled 15 public holidays marking the birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities.

Instead, students in schools and colleges would now be taught about them on these days, the state Cabinet decided today in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

"The cabinet has cancelled 15 public holidays marking the anniversaries of great personalities. Students will now be taught on these days about these figures through various programmes," Cabinet Minister Shrikant Sharma said.

He was briefing mediapersons after the cabinet meeting.

Adityanath had in his address on the occasion of Dr BR Ambedkar's 126th birth anniversary here expressed concern over the shrinking academic session due to increased holidays.

"There should be no holidays in schools on birth anniversaries of great personalities. Instead, a special two- hour programme should be held to teach students about them. The 220-day academic session has been reduced to only 120 days due to such holidays and if this tradition continues, there will be no day left for teaching in schools," he had said.

In Uttar Pradesh, there are 42 public holidays of which at least 17 are related to the birth anniversaries of eminent personalities.

The previous Samajwadi Party government had declared holidays on the birth anniversaries of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar (April 17), Maharishi Kashyap and Maharshi Nishadraj Jayanti (April 5), Hazrat Ajmeri Garib Nawaj Urs (April 26), Maharana Pratap Jayanti (May 9) besides on the death anniversary of Ambedkar (December 6).

Sharma said the revised list of holidays will soon be made available.