Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday announced that schools will no longer be closed on the birth and death anniversaries of social leaders. “To ensure that children take inspiration from the great leaders, special programmes should be held on the occasion [instead],” Adityanath said at an event organised to mark the 126th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar.

The chief minister said that often, students do not even know why the school was closed for the day. “This defeats the purpose of commemorating a holiday on the occasion,” he said according to The Times of India. Adityanath said the schools are expected to be working for 220 days but the target is not achieved because there are several holidays. “This leaves the teachers with about 130-140 working days, which is not enough for students to learn,” he said.

Adityanath said organising programmes on these days will teach the students to respect the work such leaders did, which will then help the students contribute to society and the country, The Indian Express reported.