By shifting academic session of winter zone schools, education system on the verge of collapse

Amir Tantray

Doda, June 8: Since the government has shifted the winter zone schools of Jammu and Kashmir into summer zone for academic session, entire education system is on the verge of getting collapsed.

The first week of the month of June has passed and the formal education in all the government schools across winter zone is yet to take pace.

Till the academic session formally gets underway and all the formalities including annual transfer policy and other things are implemented, more time will be lost and students will get only three to four months to complete the syllabus and compete with students of rest of the country who get eight to nine months for this purpose.

With the result of 10^th and 11^th classes is yet to be announced, students waiting to get admitted in higher classes are in a dilemma whether to get provisionally admitted or wait for the results so that they will get a clear picture of their future.

“We have been waiting for our results since long and it is not yet clear when will it be declared. There are many students who are not sure about their results and they don’t regularly visit schools to attend higher classes. Many others also, who are regularly attending schools, are in a mental trauma,” said Akash Kumar, a student of a Higher Secondary School falling in soft zone of district Doda.

For hard zones, things are more complicated as their examinations were held late and results will take more time and they will get fewer months for studies.

Before the government shifted the academic session, all the schools falling in winter zones used to start the academic session in March and April every year. They used to get eight to nine months to complete the syllabus and appear in the examination fully prepared. During the winter vacations, evaluation process was being done and before the start of next academic session, results of all the classes were being declared and students were getting full time to study.

But by shifting the academic session, things have got stuck and education system has almost collapsed. This could be felt after visiting schools in every area where students as well as staff are not sure about their studies.

As students are waiting for their results, teachers are also not sure what to do. As on one side they are uncertain about their stay at present place of posting since their transfers are on the cards after the government had announced annual transfer policy on the other and absence of students of school have put brakes on teaching process.

After visiting almost a dozen higher secondary and high schools of Doda and Ramban districts, almost every teacher expressed their level of uncertainty but didn’t speak on record. They were critical of shifting the academic session as their schools have already lost four months and still they don’t know how much time it will take to start the session officially.

“Putting schools of winter zone alongside schools of summer zones is not a wise decision. The session in summer zone schools gets underway after summer vacations and results are out till then. Their session continues during winter months also but in our case it is not like that. We won’t get summer months to run classes and in winters our schools remain off and our students will suffer ultimately,” said a lecturer of a government higher secondary school, wising anonymity.

When contacted Director Schools Education Jammu, Ashok Sharma, he said that he will check what are the issues on the ground. “We are expecting that results will be announced soon and things will get streamlined,” the DSE said.