Kashmir safest place for students: Parents of students from other states

Srinagar, July 31: Parents from various states across India on Wednesday stated that Kashmir is one of the safest places for students to pursue their education.

Talking to Greater Kashmir on the sidelines of the day-long orientation programme organised by National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Srinagar for the students of Batch 2024, the parents said the parents shared their positive experiences while dismissing the negative portrayal of Kashmir in the media.

A parent from West Bengal, whose daughter has got selected at NIFT Srinagar, said that there were some initial concerns due to media reports but he later found the ground situation was altogether different. "Earlier, we were worried as we were seeing a different picture in the media. Later, we took a review ourselves, confirmed from other people, and realised that Kashmir is the safest and most peaceful place for students across the country,” the parent said.

He said that Kashmir being the peaceful place, was the reason they opted for NIFT Srinagar over all other campuses. “Our expectations from NIFT are high, and we believe our children can build their careers in a unique field like fashion and design where they can set up their own businesses,” he said.

Another parent, Anurag, from Pune shared a similar sentiment saying that NIFT Srinagar was the first preference of his daughter, followed by Shillong. “After comprehensive research on Kashmir with regard to the prevailing situation and knowing that prestigious institutes like IIM and IHM are already operating here, we felt no harm in sending my daughter here,” Anurag said.

He said there were no issues of feeling insecure in sending kids to Kashmir. “We do not feel any insecurity. It is a safe place to visit, and students can pursue their careers in this peaceful environment,” he said.  Anurag further emphasized the disparity between media portrayals and reality. "Earlier, my friends were not convinced about my decision to send my daughter to NIFT Srinagar. But I believe that unless we verify things ourselves positively, we can’t give suggestions to others. This is the safe place as during my stay here I could see people wandering at 10 at night in Srinagar. That is an indication of how safe Kashmir is,” he said.

He said that whatever is portrayed in the media about the situation in Kashmir proves to be false after they verify things or visit Kashmir personally. “We have been here for the last two days and found Kashmir to be one of the finest and safest places,” he said.

Notably, this year NIFT Srinagar has got students from almost all the states including Rajasthan, Gujarat besides other states. Besides the parents, the students are equally satisfied with their decision to choose NIFT Srinagar to pursue their career in Fashion and designing.

“I found Kashmir as one of the best places. Art and Craft is very interesting. I feel it is a good opportunity to study all the famous Arts and crafts at a peaceful place like Kashmir,” said a female student from Kerala.

Earlier during his interaction with the students, the Director NIFT Srinagar briefed about the campus history and the achievements made by the institute during the previous years.  “With the joining of the new batch, we will make our journey meaningful and take it forward with a purpose,” he said.

He said that NIFT Srinagar was best among all other NIFT institutes in terms of infrastructure besides the availability of Arts and Crafts for the students to study here. “The students of NIFT Srinagar will get immense exposure to the crafts which have achieved fame at global level. We have a strong support system available for the students,” he said.