PC chief says taking over schools is easy, challenge is to sustain academic excellence of these schools
Srinagar: Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari Sunday said the issue of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) schools, taken over by the J&K government, should not be politicised for political gains or used as a means to settle political scores.
Bukhari’s remarks came a day after the Union Territory government took over the management of the 215 JeI-linked Falah-e-Aam Trust (FAT) schools across the Valley.
“The government (ruling party) must recognise that the issue of FAT schools is directly related to the future of thousands of students enrolled in them. Public sentiments are involved in this matter.
“Therefore, this issue cannot and should not be politicised for political gain or used as a means to settle political scores,” Bukhari said in a post on X.
Referring to the assurance by Education Minister Sakina Itoo that the schools would be handed over as soon as new management committees are formed, the Apni Party president expressed hope about the assurance being proven by action.
“One hopes that Education Minister Sakina Itoo’s assurance — that the government has taken over the management of FAT schools only as a temporary measure — will be proven by action, not merely by words,” he said.
The former minister said the government must ensure that even during this temporary period, the schools are overseen by qualified educationists and professionals rather than administrative authorities.
“Furthermore, the government must ensure that the future of the students and the careers of the teaching and non-teaching staff of these schools are not compromised in any way,” he added.
The J&K government on Saturday took over the management of the 215 schools linked to banned JeI amidst sharp criticism by nearly all political parties in the Valley.
However, the education minister asserted that these educational institutes will only be looked after till the new managing committees are formed.
The School Education Department on Friday ordered the takeover of the schools, where over 51,000 students are enrolled, in order to “safeguard their academic future”.
Pointing out the necessity of the government move, Itoo said the management committees of these schools had received “negative” CID verification six to eight years back and their terms had expired, and therefore were left in the lurch.
“The career of the children was in the dark. They were facing difficulties at the time of the Board exams; they were in distress. Students and people used to approach us regularly as they faced problems at the time of board examinations. The Board (J&K Board of School Education) did not accept them.
“So, the Education Department decided that the nearest cluster principals would look after these schools,” she said.
The move drew criticism from political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, including PDP, People’s Conference, Apni Party and JeI-backed Justice and Development Front (JDF) J-K.
Meanwhile, Peoples’ Conference chief Sajad Gani Lone appealed to the government not to convert these academic institutes of excellence into just another government school.
“They have evolved in the non government sector and will continue to deliver only if management is non governmental in nature,” he said.
Lone said if the education minister’s clarification is true that this has been done as an interim arrangement then safeguarding the career of thousands of students studying in FAT schools has to be paramount.
“The managing committees should be constituted in a time bound manner. And managing committee should comprise of educationists and other eminent and successful people from the society,” the People’s Conference chief said on X.
“And lastly please hurry. There is a real threat of large scale unemployment too if these schools are not immediately put back on track,” he added.
He, however, said taking over schools is the easiest part, as the real challenge now is to sustain the academic excellence of these schools.
“Any drop in academic standards is an unpardonable sin. And the ruling party seems all set to commit that sin,” Lone added.
