UP starts initiative to bring children back to formal schools

To ensure each child is in school, the state government is initiating the 'School Har Din Aaye Abhiyan' (SHARDA) from July 1.

A statewide survey of households in the academic session 2025–26 will be taken up to locate and bring children back to formal schooling.

The process will be executed in two phases, with the first survey spanning from July 1 through to July 31, and the second spanning Aug 16 through to Sep 15. Every rural and urban household, even slums, brick kilns, mines, hotels, tribal areas, and migrant populations, will be covered by the survey to locate and register children between 6 and 14 years of age. Children never enrolled or absent for over 30 days, with fewer than 35% marks on yearly examinations, will be counted as dropouts. Such children will be shifted to age groups and provided specialized training. School-based teams such as headmasters, teachers, Shiksha Mitras, instructors, BTC trainees, NGO volunteers, and other staff from the department will be tasked with carrying out the survey. The areas will be allocated among teams to facilitate comprehensive coverage and prompt documentation of each child's information. 

Eligible children will undergo rigorous, curriculum-aligned training, with baseline testing through the SHARDA app. Quarterly tests will be conducted in Oct, Jan, and Mar 2026. Abbreviated textbooks and required study materials will be delivered by trained nodal teachers and volunteers.

Migrant children will be given migration certificates to make enrolment easier in new places. Teachers will make home visits and parent-teacher contacts to monitor attendance and retention. Besides, poor children will be connected with social welfare programs to stabilize their education.Basic education minister Sandeep Singh stated, "The Uttar Pradesh govt believes that education is a right and a guarantee for every child's future. Our goal is to ensure no child is left out of school."