Forget 2016 unrest; the students of Jammu and Kashmir have all the reasons to look forward to 2017.
The education sector in the state is all set for a major boost to offset the losses it suffered in the turmoil.
More than 400 government schools will be upgraded and 16 new government degree colleges will be established in Jammu and Kashmir.
Of the schools to be upgraded, 200 will be promoted from middle to higher and rest 200 from higher to the higher secondary level.
The fresh steps to boost education comes a year after education became the prime casualty of the separatist-sponsored civil unrest in Kashmir.
Official figures reveal that 34 schools were burnt by attackers during the 2016 unrest. Around 14 incidents of the school burning were timely addressed and property saved.
More than 12 lakh students were sitting home as the schools and educational institutions in the valley remained shut for five months following the unrest.
“Teachers both in government and private sector deserve all praise for their commitment towards their noble profession. The state is indebted to them. Present government led by Mehbooba Mufti is committed to take education sector to a new high”, said Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Education.
Economic Survey Report presented by the Jammu and Kashmir government in the Legislative Assembly few months ago has depicted a grim picture of the education scenario in the valley in 2016.
According to the report, normal schooling could be conducted only for a period of four months in the Kashmir valley last year due to the unrest which started after the killing of Hizbul Mujhadeen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter in Bamdoora village on July 8 2016.
“No one can dispute the fact that the young generation of technocrats and officers serving the state at present are the lot which was educated by the teachers in the times of turbulence. Both public and private sector institutions are contributing to raise the education standard in their own ways”, said Bukhari.
