The Jammu and Kashmir government is considering a proposal to enrol the children of all government employees in state-run schools. The proposal was submitted by a local organisation to the Lieutenant Governor’s monitoring and grievance cell.
It aims to increase accountability and participation of government officials in the public education system, to improve teaching standards and overall performance.
The Lieutenant Governor’s (LG) office has directed the School Education Department (SED) to take the necessary actions and submit a report to his office. Following the LG’s directions, the SED sought feedback on the proposal from the Directors of School Education in both the Jammu and Kashmir divisions.
They, in turn, communicated the matter to Chief Education Officers (CEOs) and requested their opinions and suggestions. The proposal has also been forwarded to Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs) and heads of institutions for their responses and input.
Sources say the proposal has been discussed, but the decision has not been made yet regarding the implementation of the proposal. An official of the SED mentioned that the proposal is being taken seriously, and feedback will be submitted to the concerned authorities soon.
If the proposal is accepted, thousands of children of government employees will attend government schools, which will likely lead to greater scrutiny of these schools.
The J&K government has taken significant steps to improve the functioning of government departments, including the education department, after the abrogation of Article 370. Increased accountability in government schools has been reflected in a higher pass percentage and improved student performance. Government school students regularly feature on merit lists and many succeed in entrance examinations for professional courses.
In 2022, as part of the National Education Policy (NEP), the J&K government launched a new enrolment drive to increase school attendance, resulting in a 14.5 per cent rise in enrolment compared to 2020-21.
Official figures indicate that a total of 165,000 students were enrolled in various schools across J&K last year. The SED also initiated a survey called ‘Talaash,’ which surveyed around 2 million children. Through this effort, 93,508 students were identified as either out of school or never enrolled.
