The news that public parks in Srinagar are becoming hot spots for students in our schools, is not an ordinary news story.
It actually lifts veil from an extra ordinary crisis that is just unfolding.
Bunking a class is an old time fascination with students, but it was something limited to a student or two, and that too few and far between.
But these days we can see groups of students loitering around in markets, and whiling away their precious time at places like public parks.
This is now a common sight in Srinagar. It tells a sad story of the diminishing character of our schools.
Though the concerned officials have assured that they will look into the matter and take serious action in this regard, but the rot is too deep to be cured by a single stroke of official action.
These days, apart from a few high end schools, there is a general crisis that has afflicted schools. The government schools have now been going down the tube for many years, if not decades.
The students in these schools are hardly interested in studies. In the private sector there is now a huge number of schools that is finding it difficult to function properly.
That also adds to the students who bunk classes. This is something that needs serious analysis, and a professional assessment.
One immediate reason why a huge number of private sector schools is undergoing crisis is that their financial health was severely hit during pandemic.
No one in government took a serious view of this. The private schools also couldn’t advocate their case effectively in the relevant quarters.
When the management of such schools is not in a position to pay salaries of the staff, the overall atmosphere of the schools turns dull and non-performing.
This has serious repercussions on the academics in these schools. If the scenes in public parks is any indicator of our schools turning ineffective, it is time for the concerned departments to take measures that can revive the government schools as well as a vast number of private schools that are faced with debilitating crisis post pandemic.