The Government of Jammu and Kashmir faced flak Monday for selectively allowing schools to open for class work as those where students from poor families study were threatened of action for violating the calendar of gazetted state holidays.
The Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir(PSAJ&K) had decided to keep schools open on Monday, the day of Mela KheerBawani. The decision was taken on Sunday to compensate learning losses faced bythe students in the wake of frequent closure of schools in Kashmir valley.
However, the government didn’t allow the association to keepschools open citing the holiday calendar of the state.
“We had approached the Advisor’s office to seek permissionto keep our schools open on Monday. But they turned down our plea,” saidpresident PSAJK, G N Var, adding that the association and the schools inparticular had taken parents onboard for keeping the schools open on Monday andother holidays.
“Parents had no objections but the government didn’t allowus. The decision to keep schools open was taken to compensate academic losses,”Var said.
On the other hand, the CBSE-affiliated and other eliteschools remained functional on Monday sparking a controversy with local schoolproprietors accusing the government of harassment.
“We are not against CBSE schools, but why are theredifferent yardsticks with government to regulate schools. Our motive was alsoto compensate academic loses but we were not allowed to keep schools open,”said a proprietor of a local school.
The schools had informed wards of their students thatschools will remain open on Monday but had to withdraw the decision at the lastmoment.
On Monday, DPS Srinagar, DPS Baramulla and DPS Budgamschools and some other elite schools remained open.
Recently, schools associated with PSAJ&K were censuredby the district administration Budgam for keeping schools open on holidays butthe DPS School in the district remained functional on Monday, a gazettedholiday.
“No action was taken against the school administration whichexposes double standards of the government,” said a local school owner.
Earlier, a top official of education department hadthreatened the local school proprietors that the private educationalinstitutions will be closed down if they didn’t follow the government calendarof holidays.
In 2016, educational institutions remained closed for aperiod of over five months in the wake of summer uprising triggered by thekilling of militant leader Burhan Wani.
Later, the schools would remain open on Sundays tocompensate learning losses students suffered. Since then the private schools,after taking parents onboard for keeping schools open on holidays.
Parents also complained about the double yardsticks of thegovernment apparent on Monday.
“I have two kids, one is studying in DPS Srinagar whoattended his school today (Monday) while as another one observed holiday. He isstudying in Green Valley School. This obviously exposes the selective approachof the government towards schools,” said a parent from Lal Bazar in Srinagar.
The spokesman of DPS Athwajan meanwhile said all theCBSE-affiliated schools have a target of over 200 working days in one academicsession on basis of which the students of class 10th and 12th are allowed tosit in their annual exams conducted by CBSE.
“We submit our attendance to CBSE and if target is notachieved then our students are not allowed to sit in exams,” the spokesmansaid.
He said the school management observes all the gazattedholidays but the prevailing situation wherein in valley witnesses frequentstrikes results in frequent closure of schools forces them to keep the schoolsopen on some holidays to compensate the students.
“We have to compensate the academic loses. But if the stategovernment takes responsibility that students will be allowed to sit in CBSEexams despite less attendance then we have no objection in closing theschools,” the spokesman said.
He said the parents of the students will put the blame onthe school management if in case any student was disallowed by CBSE to write scheduledexams.
Director School Education Kashmir (DSEK) Muhammad YounisMalik said some schools against which complaints were received for continuingtheir class work on holidays were closed.