Uttar Pradesh orders daily newspaper reading for students

The Uttar Pradesh government has issued a statewide directive making daily newspaper reading a mandatory activity in secondary and basic primary schools, with the aim of strengthening reading habits, improving general awareness and reducing excessive screen time among students.

An order issued on December 23 by Additional Chief Secretary (Secondary and Basic Education) Parth Sarathi Sen Sharma directs schools to allocate at least 10 minutes every day during the morning assembly for newspaper reading. During this period, students will read out key editorials and major national, international and sports news on a rotational basis, officials said.

The order mandates that both Hindi and English newspapers be made available in school libraries. It also introduces a “word of the day” exercise , under which five difficult words from newspapers will be selected daily and displayed on school notice boards to help improve students’ vocabulary.

According to education department officials, the initiative is expected to improve general knowledge, language skills, critical thinking, concentration and social awareness, while also preparing students for competitive examinations and sensitising them to the dangers of fake news.

In addition to newspaper reading, schools have been encouraged to undertake related activities such as publishing school newspapers or magazines, organising editorial-based writing exercises and group discussions for Classes 9 to 12, and holding crossword and Sudoku competitions. For younger students, schools have been advised to promote scrapbook-making using newspaper cuttings.

The directive applies to all recognised schools under the state’s Basic and Secondary Education Departments, including government, government-aided and private institutions. However, officials said strict enforcement will primarily apply to government and government-aided schools, while compliance by private unaided schools will be pursued through regulatory mechanisms.

Uttar Pradesh has one of the largest school education systems in India, with over 3.25 lakh schools across government, aided and private sectors, according to official education department and UDISE+ data. Hindi is the dominant medium of instruction, particularly in government schools, alongside Urdu, English mainly in private schools and select government institutions and a limited number of Sanskrit-medium schools.

According to the 2011 Census , Uttar Pradesh’s literacy rate stands at 67.68 per cent , below the national average of 74.04 per cent. Officials said initiatives aimed at promoting regular reading are viewed as critical to improving learning outcomes in a state of this scale.

The December 23 order follows an earlier directive issued on November 2 , under which the government launched a broader reading campaign to encourage book reading and curb excessive use of mobile phones and social media. That initiative allowed students access to district government libraries, made it mandatory to issue at least one non-syllabus book every week, introduced appreciation certificates for regular readers, and launched the “No Bouquet, Only Book” campaign, under which books are gifted instead of bouquets or trophies at school functions.

While Kerala has long encouraged newspaper reading through curriculum guidelines and classroom practice without a specific government order, education officials noted that Uttar Pradesh’s move is distinct for being a formal, time-specific government directive mandating daily newspaper reading statewide, with monitoring routed through administrative authorities.

Copies of the order have been circulated to divisional education officials, district inspectors of schools and basic education officers , with instructions to ensure implementation across the state.