Author : Ayjaz Wani

Expert Speak India Matters
Published on Mar 20, 2023
The declining education system needs to be tackled with targeted measures to economically and ideologically transform the Valley
Flawed education system in Kashmir On 8 March, a government college in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir issued a circular to non-specific subject specialists to teach in different departments which are facing a staff shortage. The circular asked chemistry department teachers to teach public administration; the botany faculty to teach economics. On the same lines, the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) sponsored a two-day national seminar, “Creating Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Spaces: Urbanisation and Urban Planning in India with Special Reference to Kashmir”, organised by the Kashmir University (KU) Political Science department, which doesn’t deal with urban affairs. Ideally, ICSSR should have tied up with the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, given the specialisation in urbanisation and sustainable development. The March circular was issued due to the growing shortage of teachers in specific subjects and such a seminar would have immensely benefited the students who learn urban environment. However, the existing culture of favouritism and a lack of consideration for quality education made a totally irrelevant department tie-up with ICSSR.

Conflict and Education system in Kashmir

For decades, Pakistan-backed armed insurgency has claimed thousands of lives, created psychological traumas, and ruined the normal functioning of the state. The conflict had a long-lasting impact on the education system of the Valley, hindering the development of human capital and economic growth. The terrorists and anti-state elements burnt down schools, separatists gave calls for strikes and stone pelting, and curfews and security clampdowns by the state have kept students away from educational institutions for months and years together.
The deteriorating education environment and the detrimental influence of widespread violence and conflict intensified the socio-psychological trauma among the people and ruined the lives of thousands of students.
Subsequently, Pakistan-backed separatists and regional political leaders planted their people to intensify the feeling of separatism in the students from the primary to the university level. Rampant favouritism and illegal appointments made educational institutions a hub of separatism, inculcating an “anti-state” sentiment among the youth. The overall education suffered as these planted faculty resorted to corruption to fill vacant academic positions. The deteriorating education environment and the detrimental influence of widespread violence and conflict intensified the socio-psychological trauma among the people and ruined the lives of thousands of students. Sadly, despite the abrogation of Article 370, nothing has changed thisdisturbing status quo. In April 2022, KU’s social sciences dean was assaulted by the head of the political science department with the help of his nephew, and both exchanged nasty abuses in front of students. This shameful incident within the university campus exposed the power struggle within the academic hierarchy. However, instead of intervening to resolve the issue, the university administration opted for an incomprehensible solutionappointing a botany professor as the Dean of Social Sciences. In another shocking incident, two college professors, including a principal, were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau while accepting a bribe of INR 60,000 in February this year. Many professors and administrators in the higher education system are hand-in-glove with the secessionist ideology and embezzlement of funds, compromising national aspirations. Teachers are only interested in fat salaries, with little regard for academics and teaching. The apathetic attitude of teachers was laid bare when, despite getting extra money to take supplementary sessions during evening classes, started by the administration to increase students’ intake, the teachers never taught in the second session. Either teachers taught sessions jointly or asked their brighter students to deliver lectures.
Protests by the UT’s educated youth against unfair selection processes and tainted recruitment firms have become a routine affair.
As a result, the curriculum taught in the region is neither nationalistic nor market-driven, negating the basic premise of education. Rampant corruption and centrifugal tendencies have allocated jobs to unsuitable and inept persons, suppressing talent with the potential for socio-economic development and increasing the UT’s unemployment rate. Protests by the UT’s educated youth against unfair selection processes and tainted recruitment firms have become a routine affair. In October 2022, the region’s unemployment rate touched 22.2 percent, the highest in India, refuting the Government of India’s claim on the floor of Lok Sabha that unemployment has declined. The corruption and favouritism in educational institutions have downgraded society to the extent that most government jobs are sold. Currently, the CBI is investigating irregularities in the selection process of the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board, the state’s premier recruitment for all government and parastatal jobs. The UT administration has also set up a committee to probe the alleged 2,274 illegal Health and Medical Education department appointments. Despite the erosion of the region’s premier education institutions, the UT administration has remained a silent spectator, playing with the future of the students.

Way forward

To a great degree, New Delhi has successfully arrested terrorism and separatism in Kashmir; however, the region’s conflict-marred education system needs serious intervention. The declining education environment needs to be tackled with targeted measures to economically and ideologically transform the conflict-driven society towards greater integration and assimilation with the Union of India. The administration of the Lieutenant Governor should prioritise the education sector to make it more market-oriented and increase avenues for the skill development of the youth. The UT should make specialised colleges for fields where industrial experts impart subject-specific education according to regional needs. For example, as tourism is the mainstay of the economy in Kashmir, the government should prioritise establishing a centre of excellence in tourism and hotel management education with private partnerships. Similarly, a college should offer a comprehensive degree on sustainable economy and developmental economics, appointing industry experts and reputed economists from across India as visiting professors. These initiatives will enhance the employability quotient of the youth in the private sector all over India and relieve the pressure on government jobs.
The declining education environment needs to be tackled with targeted measures to economically and ideologically transform the conflict-driven society towards greater integration and assimilation with the Union of India.
For the smooth implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, New Delhi should start brainstorming sessions for bureaucrats and other stakeholders to chart a roadmap for its time-bound and smooth implementation. Experts from the panel who formulated the NEP should be invited for expert lectures. The teachers at the primary and secondary levels of education need familiarisation with NEP 2020. For this purpose, the UT administration should start faculty and student exchange programmes with reputed institutions across India. The selection of the teachers for such exchange programmes can be made at the zonal level on merit. This will bring the region’s conflict-hit education to par with national institutions, and teachers will get national exposure. Universities and college curricula need serious interlocution to promote employability and national integration. The curriculum should be at par with other national universities enabling students to compete nationally for jobs. As the education sector needs integrated academic management solutions, New Delhi should send a team of experts from the industry and corporate sectors to revise the region’s conflict-hit educational policy. The LG, being the chancellor of all the UT’s universities, should probe the wrongdoings in the universities and colleges to showcase the administration’s tough anti-corruption stance. The UT administration will have to act with urgency to restore education quality, foster ideological orientation and promote national integration and values among the region’s youth.
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Author

Ayjaz Wani

Ayjaz Wani

Ayjaz Wani (Phd) is a Fellow in the Strategic Studies Programme at ORF. Based out of Mumbai, he tracks China’s relations with Central Asia, Pakistan and ...

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