Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, launched the second phase of the state-wide 'School Chalo Abhiyan-2026' from Saharanpur, marking the beginning of a fortnight-long enrolment drive running from 1 July to 15 July 2026. The Chief Minister distributed free textbooks, school bags and stationery to students and felicitated the best-performing headteachers from across the district.

Context

Posting on X, CM Yogi framed the campaign in terms of collective obligation, writing: 'हर बच्चे को स्कूल पहुंचाना है, कोई बच्चा शिक्षा से वंचित न रह पाए' ('Every child must reach school; no child should be deprived of education') — calling it both a social responsibility and a national duty. The launch was held in Saharanpur, a western Uttar Pradesh district home to the revered Shakumbhari Devi temple, which the Chief Minister described as the 'grace-land of Aadishakti Maa Shakumbhari Devi.' The choice of venue lends the drive a symbolic resonance, combining a welfare announcement with a culturally significant location.

Policy Backdrop

The School Chalo Abhiyan is an annual enrolment drive that the Yogi Adityanath government has conducted since 2017 with the aim of raising gross enrolment ratios in government schools across Uttar Pradesh. The current edition is in its second phase, suggesting the first phase had already been rolled out earlier in the academic year. Free distribution of textbooks and learning materials has been a consistent feature of the campaign, operating within the broader framework of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and aligned with the Right to Education Act and the National Education Policy 2020, both of which set targets for eliminating out-of-school children in India.

Uttar Pradesh, as India's most populous state, carries a disproportionately large share of the national burden of school dropouts and non-enrolment. Successive editions of the campaign have sought to address this through community outreach, free material distribution and recognition of schools that demonstrate high attendance and retention rates.

Stakeholders and Impact

The immediate beneficiaries of the drive are government school students in Uttar Pradesh, who received new-session textbooks, school bags and stationery at the launch event. Headteachers of the best-performing schools in Saharanpur district were publicly honoured, a gesture the government uses to incentivise quality and accountability among school administrators. Teachers and school management committees are also key stakeholders, as the campaign relies on them to conduct outreach in their localities and ensure that out-of-school children are identified and enrolled before the 15 July 2026 deadline.

For the state government, the campaign serves as a visible demonstration of its commitment to universal elementary education, a politically salient issue in a state where educational outcomes in government schools have historically lagged behind national averages.

What's Next

The second phase of School Chalo Abhiyan-2026 runs until 15 July 2026, after which the government is expected to release enrolment and retention figures to assess the campaign's reach. Observers will watch for any follow-up announcements on school infrastructure upgrades, mid-day meal programme expansions or fresh teacher recruitment — areas that directly affect whether newly enrolled students remain in school beyond the campaign window. The broader test for the initiative will be whether enrolment gains translate into sustained attendance through the academic year.