STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Pleading for insulating education from disturbances, Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar on Saturday said that schooling adds value to a person’s worth and such a sacred endeavor being derailed is like pushing the society into the dark ages.
“Education is not merely about employment but it takes an individual on the path of knowledge and emancipation and it has to be made disturbances-neutral,” the minister said while replying to the discussion on the Demands for Grants of Education and allied Departments in the Legislative Assembly on Saturday evening.
Akhtar said that the government is of the way to make schools and colleges as knowledge hubs for not just the students and teachers but also for the community.
“I express my heartfelt gratitude to the teachers whose untiring efforts and sincere commitment have made possible positive transformation in the education sector to take shape over the past couple of years,” he said and added that a lot is still to be done in the face of varied challenges to safeguard the future of students and connect them to the larger world outside.
“The biggest and the basic challenge we are faced today is to bring our children from the cycle of hatred and violence and restore their confidence in life, make them celebrate it and end their alienation” the minister said and added that there is a need to change the distorted discourse among the youth and children and make them believe how they can flourish and progress in life and career while living a respectful and dignified life.
“A small beginning has been made with the coming of some consciousness about the importance of education and the initiatives taken at government level in this direction,” he asserted while referring to the achievements of the State’s youth in the field of sports and academics in past few months as unanimously agreed by the members while taking part in the discussion. He said the convergence brought in education has also helped in engaging youth more efficiently.
Referring to the situation in which the last exams were held in Kashmir Valley, he said education in the last five months had become an underground activity as the parents were sending their wards stealthily to schools early in the morning and come back by 9:00 AM. “The place which has been a source of inspiration for knowledge in the entire sub-continent was pushed to such a dismaying situation,” he said adding “Such tough has been the challenge but the parents, teachers and students overcome it successfully which has been reflected in the results declared recently.”
Making a significant move towards universalisation of education in the State, Akhtar announced that henceforth no government permission will be required for opening of community Primary School in the private sector.
In another important decision aimed at promoting transparency in the Department, the Education Minister announced that henceforth services like marriage based transfers, maternity and childcare leave, study leave and hostel allocation for students will be online.
The minister said it is heartening to note that with the modest but consistent efforts of the Departmental functionaries including administrators, teachers and non-teaching staff on one hand and the students, parents and the civil society on the other, there has been encouraging and tangible improvement in the educational standards of the government schools over the past couple of years. “The recent results of the Class 10th examinations for the Kashmir division and Class 12th results for Winter Zone (Jammu) reflect the steady transformation taking place in the government-run educational institutions,” he said.
The cut motions which were moved by the members were withdrawn after the satisfactory reply by the minister.
Later, the House passed the grants of Education Department, for the year 2017-18, moved by the Minister, amounting to Rs 784400.88 lakh with voice vote.
