J&K’s education sector to get impetus

Srinagar, July 23: In a major development, J&K's education sector is all set to get an impetus as the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the Budget 2024-25 for the education sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

The budget announced by the finance minister is aimed at revitalising and modernising the education sector of J&K.

It promises a comprehensive overhaul of the school and higher education systems as it focuses on inclusivity, technology integration, and quality improvement.

An amount of Rs 1875 crore has been allocated to rejuvenate the infrastructure in the schools.

The funds would be provided under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (erstwhile SSA) and would include career counselling services and the establishment of modern schools under the PM SHRI scheme.

An amount of Rs 475 crore has been allocated for the upgradation of infrastructure in colleges and universities.

“This investment will support the rollout of the National Education Policy (NEP), which seeks to transform the higher education landscape with a focus on holistic, multidisciplinary, and inclusive education,” read the contents of the budget.

The budget promises the establishment of new 2176 kindergarten classes in schools which would help in expanding early childhood education access in J&K.

“Furthermore, 18,499 schools will receive sports equipment to enhance physical education and extracurricular activities among the school children,” it reads.

The budget has also earmarked funds for the provision of ICT labs and smart classrooms in 2584 schools with a focus on bringing advanced learning technologies to the students.

The establishment of 43 Robotic Labs and 30 Virtual Reality Labs for schools has also been announced in J&K’s budget.

The move aims to introduce students to cutting-edge technological education.

Under the new budget unveiled for J&K's education sector, Science Centres would be established in 100 schools to foster scientific inquiry and technical skills among the school children.

“Moreover, vocational education will be introduced in 554 new schools which will equip the students with practical skills and improve their employability," it reads.

Also, 80 schools in tribal areas would be transformed into smart schools.

This initiative aims to bridge the educational divide and ensure that students in remote and underprivileged areas have access to the same quality of education as their peers in urban regions.

“Around 20 national sports events will be organised in FY 2024-25 and placement drives for 1000 pass-outs will also be held in collaboration with big business and industrial establishments," it reads.

In her speech, while unveiling the budget for J&K, the finance minister said that since 2019, the entire region has witnessed an era of peace, progress, and prosperity.

“Schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and other public institutions are functioning efficiently without any strikes or any kind of disturbances during the last four years. The earlier practice of daily hartals, strikes, stone pelting and bandhs are things of the past now,” she said in her budget speech.

Speaking about the education sector in J&K, Sitharaman said that the congenial environment in J&K since 2019 had enabled a rapid increase in enrolment of students in primary, middle, and secondary government schools from 12.40 lakh in 2019-20 to over 14.18 lakh in 2022-23.

“The J&K government has embarked on the initiative to provide early childhood education by starting development of 15,000 pre-primary schools with an enrolment of 1.80 lakh children,” she said.

The finance minister said that thrust had also been provided to girls’ education and around 46,000 out-of-school children had been identified, enrolled in various schools, and mainstreamed to fulfil the commitment to universal education.

“The punctuality and working discipline of the teaching staff was enhanced by installing facial recognition-based attendance systems in all the schools. The capacity of polytechnic colleges is being augmented with 600 additional seats,” she said.