Mau (UP), Aug 6 (PTI) Samajwadi Party's district student wing president Akhilesh Bharti has been booked for allegedly conducting an unauthorised 'PDA Pathshala', an informal learning initiative launched by Samajwadi workers in protest against the Uttar Pradesh government's school pairing policy, officials said on Wednesday.
The education department initiated action acting on viral photos and videos circulating on social media, and the case was lodged late on Tuesday night at the City Kotwali on the directions of the district magistrate.
According to officials, Bharti was seen teaching children on the terrace of a house while wearing a Samajwadi Party (SP) cap.
The initiative was apparently run under the name PDA Pathshala, referring to the SP's campaign to protest what it calls school "closures" under the state's pairing policy.
The government, however, maintains that no schools are being closed, and only resources are being optimised by pairing institutions.
Basic education officer Santosh Kumar Upadhyay confirmed the action, stating that the district authorities learned through social media that Bharti conducted a "politically motivated" teaching session without the education department's permission.
"No such pathshala or workshop can be conducted without prior approval. Instructions were issued to the concerned block education officer, who lodged a complaint with the City Kotwali," Upadhyay said.
Upadhyay also said that such activities are not appropriate and amount to "political misuse" of children.
"The fundamental rights of children will be protected. They cannot be used for political purposes," he said.
The teaching did not take place on a school campus, but was allegedly conducted on a terrace in the vicinity of a school and within the jurisdiction of the Kotwali area, officials said.
On August 3, an FIR was registered against a local SP leader in Saharanpur for allegedly teaching "politicised alphabets" to children under the PDA Pathshala initiative.
Reacting to the development, SP president Akhilesh Yadav posted on 'X', "Even the British did not file an FIR for studying. The anti-education face of the BJP has now been exposed to the public. Now the BJP will be gone forever. Condemnable."