Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that physical development is not the goal of life, as meaningful development ensures the preservation of civilisation, culture and spiritual values.In Pauri Garhwal to inaugurate the newly constructed building of an intermediate college located at Yamkeshwar, the CM said: “Centres of education should ensure that they are not limited to imparting only bookish knowledge but also prepare students with values and skilling.”
“This year, Uttarakhand will complete 25 years as a state. This is an opportunity for the state to touch new heights of development while preserving cultural and spiritual values,” Yogi said.Speaking about Sanatan tradition, Yogi described the ‘gotra’ system as a “symbol of our gratitude towards the ‘rishi’ tradition”.“Ancient gurukuls were not just centres of study, but comprehensive centres for training in agriculture, Ayurveda, skills and life values. A Gurukul student did not find himself helpless in any struggle of life. No work was small or difficult for him. Only that person succeeds, who moves forward with positive thinking through efforts and hard work. Negativity leads a person towards downfall,” he said.“The National Education Policy takes forward this thinking that schools should not be limited to bookish knowledge alone but become centres of skill development and holistic personality building,” he added.The CM questioned those who raised the issue with Saraswati prayers in schools, saying that the goddess did not belong to any caste, creed or community, and her blessings automatically came to those who worked hard.The CM said that when the intermediate college was established in 1965, there was no electricity, roads, or modern facilities.“Now, electricity, drinking water, roads and better connectivity are available in every village. The earlier school building was in a dilapidated condition, but now the govt has provided facilities. It is now the responsibility of teachers to raise the quality of education,” he said.Calling Uttarakhand ‘Devbhoomi’, he said that its youth protected the country’s borders and played an important role in every field.Emphasising the need to save villages from migration, he said that villages were the roots of civilisation, and the stronger the roots, the more stable and prosperous a society would be.“Villages should be developed as centres of education, innovation, research and self-reliance. Earlier, villages were self-reliant and their dependence on govt was minimal. Today, there is a need to revive that spirit of self-reliance,” he said.