Education system back on track in J-K: Education minister

Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari today said the government had succeeded in getting the decrepit education system back on track despite odds and challenges.
"To compensate for the time lost by students of schools and colleges due to frequent disruptions, the department is seriously considering notifying a separate 'Education Calendar' that minimises holidays and enables teachers to complete their syllabi in time," he said.
Winding up the discussion on demand for grants by the education and allied departments, the minister sought the support of the people in safeguarding the education sector from disruptions and called for exempting teachers from all non-academic duties.

"We cannot afford to make our students suffer for this, teachers have to be discharged from non-teaching assignments, including election-related duties," Bukhari said.
The minister said remedial measures need to be taken in the education system of the state so that it did not become a casualty.
"It was not easy to bring back the students from the streets to the classrooms where they actually belong. Despite extreme provocations, I take great pride in stating that not a single FIR was registered against the protesting students last year." he said.

Bukhari called for involving students, especially adolescents, in the decision-making processes, saying they were going through a difficult time and needed help.

For this, he suggested that 'Student Councils' be formed to monitor the affairs of schools and colleges.
Later, the House passed grants amounting to over Rs 8827. 55 crore for education, youth services and sports, technical education and allied departments with a voice vote.
The minister said an additional corpus of Rs 100 crore, with contribution by MLAs and MPs, was created to make them partners in the development of the education system.
He called for spending the money generated on fencing and creating other facilities to ensure security of the students.
"Till our schools remain unfenced and insecure, they will continue to remain vulnerable to anti-social activities," the minister added.

Admitting it was hard to bring a perceptible change against the backdrop of huge challenges posed by the law and order situation, he said it would be wrong to paint a rosy picture.
The school education department was actively considering bringing in a legislation to regulate the fee structures of private educational institutions, the minister added.