Yogi Adityanath Assured Fee Waiver for Class 7 Girl. School Responded It Was Impossible

A Class 7 girl's request to be provided with money that will make her an IAS officer has been politicized in Uttar Pradesh.

Pankhuri Tripathi's family too suffered a great loss when her father Rajiv Kumar Tripathi suffered a severe injury in the leg through an accident and had to be sent out of service. The family went to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and were assured that her education would not be hampered.

The Class 7 student requested the school administration to waive her fee payment, but the school management refused and informed her that there was no such clause. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has now criticized the Uttar Pradesh BJP government and promised to help the girl study. The parents of Pankhuri believe that the Chief Minister will step forward and help her realize her ambitions.

Pankhuri Tripathi learns in Pakkibag-based Saraswati Shishu Mandir. Vidya Bharati school operated by RSS's education wing charges Rs 1,650 to students of Class 7. Pankhuri will have to pay almost Rs 18,000.

"I went to the Chief Minister with a fee pardon request. He offered me chocolate and that he would do it. But when my father brought me to school, they treated us badly. They said that the fee can't be pardoned. They said that if more parents ask for a fee pardon, then the school can't run. They said that they have to pay teachers," she repeated again.

"My father wept. No one has ever spoken to him in such a manner earlier. But I do not wish for the Chief Minister to shatter my dream. I shall work and become an IAS officer," Pankhuri said.

Yogi Adityanath's stronghold is Gorakhpur. He is Mathadhyaksh of the Gorakhnath Math and five-time MP of Gorakhpur prior to joining politics and becoming the state's Chief Minister.

State Opposition Samajwadi Party chief and state's top Opposition leader, Akhilesh Yadav, has now retaliated against the ruling party for Pankhuri's remark. "We promise her education will never be disrupted. This is the bitter truth of the BJP's hollow promise of 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'. We implore the BJP not to play with children," Mr Yadav tweeted on X.

Pankhuri's father, Rajiv Tripathi, said that he had traveled out of the state before the COVID-19 pandemic. "I was at home under lockdown. I slipped off the terrace and injured my leg. I lost employment. Both my children are studying in English-medium schools. My son is pursuing Class 12, and my daughter is pursuing Class 7. I was struggling to pay their school fee and my daughter did not report to school after February. It's the final year of my son's schooling, so I did not want to end his studies. I had considered withdrawing my daughter from school for one year. Then I thought that I could seek the help of the Chief Minister. We approached Janata Durbar on July 1 and sought his help. He instructed officers forthwith that my daughter's study should not be disrupted," he added.

"The school administration, however, asserted that they had no provision for a fee pardon. They claimed that if the administration issues a fee pardon to all parents, the school will shut down. They responded in a discourteous manner. When I witnessed my daughter crying, I also cried," he said.

After hearing the news of acquainting himself with the fact, Mr Yadav tweeted about the issue and staged a show of support, Mr Tripathi responded, "He has tweeted. However, we are in contact with the Math and Maharaj ji (i.e., Yogi Adityanath) and we think that he would arrange for the education of my daughter."

NDTV tried to speak with the school administration but they declined to comment on the matter. The state education department's senior officer informed that the state government has written a letter to the school administration and a positive response is imminent.