The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly’s Autumn Session brought several important public issues to the floor, but when the discussion is viewed through the lens of education, a larger question remains: did the session move beyond individual issues towards a broader vision for transforming education in Jammu and Kashmir?
The answer appears less straightforward.
Education was certainly not absent from the proceedings. One of the significant developments was the Assembly’s passage of a resolution seeking exemption from the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for government teachers appointed before October 31, 2019. The matter had remained a concern for a section of teachers, and its discussion in the House reflected the continuing complications surrounding teacher appointments and eligibility requirements.
However, a teacher-related resolution, important as it may be, cannot by itself represent an education policy.
Another discussion concerned the declining attraction of government schools. A Private Members’ Bill proposed making it compulsory for children of public representatives and government servants to study in government schools. The proposal was ultimately defeated, while the Education Minister maintained that improving enrolment and strengthening government schools required wider efforts rather than compulsion.
This episode, however, raises a much larger question that deserves attention beyond the fate of one Bill: why are government schools struggling to remain the first choice for many families?
The answer cannot simply be reduced to enrolment campaigns. It involves the quality of teaching, availability of subject teachers, school infrastructure, laboratories, libraries, digital facilities, transportation, extracurricular opportunities, parental confidence and above all, the learning experience of children.
This is where the Autumn Session appeared to leave considerable space for a larger conversation.
Jammu and Kashmir has a geographically difficult terrain and a highly diverse educational landscape. A school in a remote mountainous village does not face exactly the same challenges as a school in Srinagar, Jammu or another urban centre. In many areas, weather conditions, connectivity, transportation and accessibility directly influence attendance and learning.
Therefore, an education agenda for J&K cannot stop at individual administrative questions. It needs to ask whether every government school has the teachers, laboratories, libraries, classrooms and digital resources required for the curriculum it is expected to deliver.
Higher education also requires sustained attention. The expansion and regulation of higher-education institutions, including the legislative framework for private universities earlier in 2026, shows that capacity expansion is already part of the policy conversation. But expansion alone does not guarantee accessibility or quality.
For students, the bigger concern is often what happens after school. Seats in colleges, professional education opportunities, competitive examinations, skill development, scholarships, research opportunities and employment-linked education matter just as much as enrollment.
The same applies to reservation.
Reservation remained an important issue during the Autumn Session. The Chief Minister stated that the elected government had examined the matter through a Cabinet Sub-Committee, subsequently considered it in the Cabinet, responded to questions raised by the Union Government and forwarded its decision again to the Lieutenant Governor. The issue, therefore, remained connected not merely with policy but also with the question of implementation.
For students and job aspirants, however, the distinction between a policy being discussed and a policy being implemented is crucial.
Reservation is not simply a percentage written in a government order. For a student waiting for admission, or a graduate preparing for recruitment, what matters is clarity: which categories are covered, what is the applicable percentage, from which recruitment or admission cycle will a change operate, and when will the final decision become operational?
Uncertainty itself can become a burden for young people planning their education and careers.
Jammu and Kashmir does not merely need more discussions about education. It needs measurable educational outcomes.
How many teacher vacancies are currently vacant? How many schools have adequate laboratories? How many government schools have functional libraries? What is the learning level of students at the elementary and secondary stages? How many students leave school before completing higher secondary education? How accessible are colleges for students living in remote areas? What proportion of graduates move into employment or further education?
These are the questions that ultimately determine whether an education system is improving.
The Assembly is an important forum for raising these questions. But legislative attention should ideally be followed by timelines, financial commitments, administrative action and measurable results.
The TET resolution addresses one specific teacher-related issue. The debate over government-school enrolment highlights another. The reservation discussion reflects a continuing demand for clarity and implementation. Each issue is important in its own right.
But taken together, they also demonstrate that J&K’s education sector requires something larger: a comprehensive education roadmap rather than a collection of individual interventions.
Such a roadmap could bring together teacher recruitment and training, school infrastructure, learning outcomes, higher education, scholarships, digital access, examination reform, career guidance, vocational education and reservation implementation.
The real test of the Autumn Session will therefore not simply be how many times education was mentioned in the House.
It will be whether the discussions eventually translate into visible changes in classrooms.
Because for a student sitting in a government school in a remote part of Jammu and Kashmir, the success of an Assembly session is not measured by the number of speeches delivered in Srinagar. It is measured by whether the classroom has a teacher, the laboratory has equipment, the library has books, the internet works, the examination system is predictable and the student can see a realistic path from education to opportunity.
Jammu and Kashmir needs an education policy conversation that is ambitious enough to look beyond the immediate issue and practical enough to deliver results.
adnanbattccc342@gmail.com
