PRAYAGRAJ, May 25 -- The state basic education department has finalised exposure visit destinations for students of Classes 1 to 8 studying in over 1.30 lakh government-run schools, including primary (Classes 1-5), upper primary (Classes 6-8), and composite schools (Classes 1-8), across all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh. More than 1.25 crore students are expected to benefit from the initiative, which is aimed at broadening their academic and practical learning experiences, officials said. As part of the programme, special emphasis has been laid on visits to prominent science and technology institutions. In Prayagraj and neighbouring Kaushambi district, students will be taken to premier institutes and industrial establishments, including Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad, NTPC, the IFFCO production unit at Phulpur, National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), ITI-Naini, and the Jawahar Planetarium at Anand Bhavan. Schoolchildren from Kaushambi will also be taken to the Guava Research Centre at Khusru Bagh as part of the exposure visits. Students from Pratapgarh district will visit MNNIT, IIIT-A, and Jawahar Planetarium in Prayagraj, besides touring Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi in Amethi district. Officials said the visits will be conducted in batches during the academic session, with teachers and local education authorities supervising the tours. Students will also be introduced to basic scientific experiments, innovation models, and industrial processes during the visits to help enhance experiential learning. The Union government provides budgetary support for the educational tours under the programme. National mentor Shatrujay Sharma said the exposure visits are aimed at familiarising students with scientific research, technology, industrial operations, and innovation ecosystems beyond classroom learning. "The initiative will help children connect classroom education with practical knowledge and inspire them towards innovation and scientific thinking," Sharma said....