Expansion
There will be books in the hands of 90 thousand children of Jammu and Kashmir up to the age of 18 years. To connect everyone with education under the Right to Education Act, the ‘Talaash’ campaign, which has been going on for one and a half year in 26 lakh homes, has been completed in March. During this, about 90 thousand such students were found, who were not studying anywhere. These are divided into three classes.
In the academic session 2023, now 26 thousand students of sixth to eighth grade (six to 14 age group) have been enrolled in government schools. While 36 thousand students from ninth to 12th (15 to 18 age group) have been approved for admission in National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). In the meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the G-20 Education Working Group, State Coordinator Syed Fayaz told that the ‘Talaash’ campaign was started at the end of 2021 with the aim of knowing the number of students who were away from education due to Corona and other reasons. Which was completed on March 2023. 23 thousand teachers surveyed about 26 lakh homes and found that about 90 thousand students are away from education.
1.60 lakh new students added in government schools
Syed Fayaz says that after the removal of Article 370, there is a revolution in education in the Kashmir Valley. The number of students in the schools of every district of the state is continuously increasing. Government schools are now becoming the first choice. This change has come due to improvement in the quality of government schools more than due to economic reasons. Trust is also being built among the parents. This is the reason that apart from the ‘Talaash’ campaign, one lakh 60 thousand new students have enrolled in different classes in the 2023 session.
Children divided into three classes under NEP 2020
Under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the ‘Talaash’ campaign has been divided into three sections. In this, 3000 students in the age group of three to five years are being admitted in Pre Nursery, Nursery, Lower Nursery, Upper Prep, Pre Primary. Similarly, the students of KG or Upper KG are being admitted in Kindergarten I, II and III under the new rules. The process of enrolling 26,000 students of classes VI to VIII in government schools in the age group of six to 14 is on. Special study centers will also be set up for students of this age group. A report has been sought from all district administrations for this. In this special training will be given to the teachers. So that these students who stay away from education due to various reasons can be connected to the main stream of education. The central government will bear all its expenses.
Free preparation of NEET, JEE, CUET from the upcoming session: At the national level, students of Jammu and Kashmir are performing better in other national competitive examinations including NEET, JEE, CUET, UPSC. In view of this, the Jammu and Kashmir Administration and the Ministry of Education together have decided to prepare promising students of government schools for NEET, JEE, CUET, UPSC and other national entrance and competitive examinations. The central government will bear all its expenses.
