PRAYAGRAJ, Oct. 10 -- The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) is preparing to revoke the recognition of 170 affiliated schools across the state due to having zero student enrollment for the past three consecutive academic years. The Board has compiled a list of non-performing schools and is poised to take strict action in an effort to uphold educational standards, confirmed board officials. The UP Board functions through five regional offices located in Prayagraj, Meerut, Bareilly, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur. The Varanasi regional office has the highest number of such schools, totaling 51. This office covers districts including Sultanpur, Barabanki, Ambedkar Nagar, Amethi, Azamgarh, Varanasi, Mirzapur, and Sonbhadra. Within this region, Azamgarh has the most schools at risk of losing recognition with 11, followed by Ghazipur with 10, Ayodhya with 7, Mau with 5, and Ballia with 4. The Prayagraj regional office, which oversees districts such as Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, and Prayagraj, accounts for 45 schools. Notably, 13 schools in Kanpur Nagar and 12 in Lucknow have been served notices. Similarly, 39 schools under the Meerut office, which includes districts like Agra, Mathura, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Meerut, and Saharanpur, are also on the list. Specifically, 9 schools in Etah and 5 each in Agra and Firozabad face the threat of derecognition. From the Bareilly regional office, which covers Moradabad, Bijnor, Sambhal, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, and Pilibhit etc, 22 schools have been flagged. Of these, 9 are located in Bijnor. Meanwhile, the Gorakhpur regional office, overseeing Bahraich, Gonda, Balrampur, Siddharth Nagar, Gorakhpur, Deoria, and Kushinagar etc, has listed 13 schools, including 3 from Gorakhpur district itself. Confirming the development, Kamlesh Kumar, secretary of the Prayagraj regional office, said that all identified schools have been asked to explain the consistent lack of enrolment over the past three years. Currently, notices have been issued to all 170 institutions, seeking justification for the absence of student admissions during the past three years. If the responses are found unsatisfactory, the UP Board will proceed with revoking their recognition, officials shared. A key point highlighted by officials is that all the defaulting schools are unaided, meaning they do not receive government funding....