Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
The debate over reforming education system which was initiated soon after Naeem Akhtar took over as Education Minister of Jammu & Kashmir early this year is not at all coming to an end. Not a single day has passed when we don’t see a news article , editorial , column or a statement related to education reforms being carried by our local print media . If for the sake of argument, we say Education Minister hasn’t done anything to give education sector a right direction, we must also acknowledge the fact that for the first time in history of Jammu & Kashmir people seem to be serious about education and that is the reason this issue is being discussed every day be it our high profile coffee shops or an ordinary village bakery (Kandur) . I believe that this healthy debate , discussion and seriousness of people towards quality education is the biggest achievement for Naeem Akhtar. Only a year back people where hardly bothered about Government school functioning, Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers Coaching centers, vocational training in schools, etc , but now people are discussing all these issues seriously. It is not an issue which is debated only in mainstream media but the debate is more healthy on social media also . There are dozens of email discussion groups , facebook pages and whats-app groups which have been exclusively created to discuss educational issues in J&K. If people start discussing something that means the issue has some importance. Earlier when education was not at all discussed that clearly indicated that people were hardly serious about reforming the education system.
Roping in Institutions
The Government’s decision of roping in various institutions and Non Government Organisations (NGO’s) to strengthen education sector in Jammu & Kashmir may not be appreciated by people at this moment but I am sure with the passage of time when people may see the positive results the decision will definitely be appreciated. According to media reports many reputed technical institutions have been roped in to undertake capacity building programmes for Government school teachers and facilitate technological interventions, particularly use of Information and Communication Technology, in the educational institutions. The Education Department has recently signed some MoU’s with , National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), National Institute of Open Schools (NIOS), National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT). The NSDC has already sought applications from reputed NGO’s and Non Profit companies who would be executing the project in some selected Government schools across different districts of Jammu & Kashmir. NSDC plans to give training on skill development through their partner NGOs who would be shortlisted soon. According to Memorandum of Understanding made with National Institute of Open Schools (NIOS), the Institute would train around 5000 under-graduate teachers from J&K by making them to undergo a two-year Diploma in Elementary Education through distance mode. Earlier this was not at all a preference for Education Ministry in Jammu & Kashmir and that is the reason we are going through all the mess in this sector now . Some NGOs have already done their work on voluntary basis in Bandipora during this summer. The New Leaf Initiative (NLI) undertaken by Dr Shah Faesal Director School Education Kashmir who was earlier posted as Deputy Commissioner Bandipora showed very impressive results. The volunteers from NGO’s such as Teach for India and Pratham have done a commendable work in Bandipora. Their volunteers had gone to remotest areas of Gurez as well.
Intervention by B-ABLE :
There are some states where vocational training is being imparted to Government school children by reputed organizations . It has been observed that students once completing their school education have no skills at all. To make them stand on their feet and to ensure better future for the poor and marginalized students, BASIX Academy for Building Lifelong Employability Ltd. (B-ABLE) which is a subsidiary of Basix Ltd a Non Profit company based in Delhi and Hyderabad is already involved in imparting skill development training to Government school students in seven states namely Haryana , Punjab , Himachal Pradesh , Rajasthan, Chattisgarh , Maharashtra and New Delhi . BASIX’s exemplary leadership team is led by Vijay Mahajan an IIT Delhi IIM Ahmedabad alumnus. He is an expert on creating and implementing livelihood generation models across the globe. He has been named as one of the “Outstanding Social Entrepreneur” in the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos in 2002. B-ABLE has taken upon itself a part of this responsibility towards building employability of those who have been failed by our school system. This also fulfills the BASIX mission of promoting livelihoods. B-ABLE is right now busy in training around 6000 Government school children in retail and agricultures trades in Himachal Pradesh. Around 150 Government run schools are being targeted in the 1st phase. Similarly in other states 280 Government schools are being targeted and students are being trained in tour and travel , IT and automobile trades. Our education planners hardly thought of having these kind of projects in our state in past. Their sole agenda was to earn money by backdoor appointments , illegal transfers and postings , creating new schools under SSA by illegal means. We hope J&K Government would consult many more organizations who are involved in skill building work in Government schools. Within next 5 years the Government should target all the High and Higher Secondary schools across State. I am sure if this training continues , by next seven to eight years we will have a skilled manpower available in our state who won’t be seen begging for Government jobs.
Conclusion :
Visible changes are seen in Government school functioning , transfer mafia has almost been neutralized in directorate offices. Honest and dedicated teachers are getting appreciation whose voice otherwise was muzzled for years. The transfer policy in education department is being streamlined. Ministers who held the portfolio of Education particularly the School Education Ministry in past had lack of vision and dedication. If there is a visionary man with energetic and indefatigable officers at his beck and call , why not support his initiative to secure the future of our children.
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