By: Mohammad Akram
Since the creation of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, many developmental changes have occurred. Most of these changes affected the public perception, both affirmatively and otherwise. The extension of various central welfare legislations and centrally sponsored schemes, which otherwise required the accent of the local government, directly benefited the people. Besides, employees in the UT also benefited from many allowances, which they were previously devoid of.
The holistic implementation of the Panchayati Raj System in the UT strengthened the connections between the people and their representatives, which led to the emergence of many potential future leaders.
Like other sectors, the education sector too saw massive changes. Immediate extension of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009 with the latest amendments ensured that children of the downtrodden sections of society, including the economically weaker sections got admission in prestigious private schools, previously an unimaginable dream.
Establishing SCERT in the UT and preparing and uploading course content viz. videos, documents, etc. on its website and various mobile applications benefited the student community. The gaps in acquiring quality education have been plugged in by adopting a uniform curriculum for private and public schools. These are among the many affirmative contributions of abrogation.
India launched its first education policy of the twenty-first century, NEP 2020 based on the premise of the quality-based inclusive education system in alignment with the UN’s SDG4 of 2030. The holistic adoption of this policy in the UT minimised the implementation gaps benefiting the UT’s learning population. Implementation processes have been fast-tracked by the immediate release of funds to the UT administration for building infrastructure, training teachers, and allied activities.
Through various online platforms, more than one lac teachers have been trained enhancing their pedagogical skills. The base of various central scholarships has also been widened in the state. The country’s reputed institutions like The Goenkas set up their campuses in the state to augment the quality of education and provide viable alternatives to parents and learners. Bringing the UT learners at par with the country by bringing changes in the academic calendar, although debatable, was a good acumen. However, it has been reversed immediately by the elected government without seeking discussion from the stakeholders.
The integration of extra-curricular activities, sports activities, and integration of different languages and cultures through Basha Sangam as envisaged in the NEP 2020 has immensely provoked the aesthetics of learners generating interest in learning among them. Many students have chosen sports and fine arts like dancing, singing, etc. for their career progression.
Some immensely talented persons have represented the UT of J&K at national and international competitions and earned fame. The government often groomed talented people and provided them with adequate platforms to launch themselves. In the erstwhile state, such instances rarely occurred and lacked governmental support. Through Atal Tinkering Labs, learner’s creativity, and critical thinking have been channelled into innovations from the early years of schooling providing suitable impetus to budding scientists. Recently, many students from UT got a chance to visit Japan, South Korea, China, etc. due to their innovative ideas translated into models. The earlier recognition of talents and exposure to students will surely lead to scientific and technological advancement, which will turn the UT into a scientific society.
Nonetheless, since the formation of UT, many developments in the education sector had negative effects- focusing on the show-off rather than substance while implementing policies and schemes leads to the erosion of the sanctity of the policy and generates false social signals. The rush of coming to the spotlight often leads to the hasty execution of the schemes and fake, fabricated, and improper persons get undue promotion in the society. This demotivates dedicated and real optimistic thinkers. Thus, the policies suffer in achieving the basic objectives in the long run.
