Govt ramps up education efforts

Govt ramps up education efforts
From opening new schools, upgrading existing oneS to appointing teachers, it’s doing all
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 11
During the peak militancy period, school education took a massive hit in Jammu & Kashmir. The damage was not just on the infrastructure front but also in terms of human resources. School buildings were bombed, students were threatened and then there was this perennial shortage of teachers, especially in the militancy-prone districts. But now the state government is trying hard to change all this.

Under a major revamp plan, the government has upgraded 251 middle schools to high schools in teh past two years. “Most of the upgraded schools are located in the far-flung areas, where the means of transportation arevery less.

To secure the future of the students living in these areas, the government has been working hard. We want the students to continue their studies,” said a senior official of the Education Department.

He added, “The aim is to build schools in each and every village, so that the literacy rate could be improved”.

Giving details, he added that during 2009-10, 69 middle schools were upgraded to high schools, under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.

Similarly, 182 middle schools were upgraded to the level of high schools during 2010-11.

The official said in addition to these schools, 611 high schools and 373 higher secondary schools were also regularised by the Planning and Development Department.

Even recently, Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed had said the government was very keen to open more schools in the remote areas of both the regions-Jammu and Kashmir.

“Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is having a keen interest to open more and more schools in villages so that the children can get proper education. The living standard of people in villages is yet to be uplifted. It can only be through education,” he added.