Kashmiri subject faces neglect at school level as textbooks remain unavailable for 2 academic years

Srinagar, Jun 18: Bellying the tall claims of the government for promotion of the Kashmiri language, the subject is facing official neglect right from the school level. For the last two years, the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE) has not provided free supply of Kashmiri textbooks to the schools.

For the last two years, the students have been deprived of textbooks for the subject, raising questions on the administration.

A top official told Greater Kashmir that not a single Kashmiri language textbook has been supplied to government schools across the Valley for the last two years till date, leaving thousands of students—especially those in primary and middle classes—without basic learning material for the subject. The omission has sparked criticism from school teachers and parents who have accused the department of sidelining the promotion and preservation of the language despite repeated assurances to the contrary. "It is surprising that the government makes tall claims of promotion of Kashmiri language but its practical implementation at the grassroots level remains a distant dream," said a school teacher.

Notably, in the past few months, the Director School Education Kashmir (DSEK), during his visit to various schools stressed students to speak in Kashmiri, hinting towards promotion of the language. "But on ground, the situation is altogether different," a school teacher said. Several teachers posted in government schools said they have been forced to rely on makeshift teaching materials, handwritten notes to teach Kashmiri subjects to the students. “Last year and this year too, no books came for the Kashmiri subject. We have been asking the ZEOs and CEOs, but they say there is no supply from JKBOSE,” a government school teacher posted in north Kashmir, told Greater Kashmir. The absence of textbooks is not only affecting academic delivery but also hurting the interest and performance of the students in the subject. Besides teachers, parents have also voiced their concern over the issue saying that why would students choose the subject for which textbooks have not been made available.

This indifference towards the Kashmiri language at the school level comes despite the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasising on mother tongue-based learning, especially in the foundational years. The teachers said that since 2023, the government is forcing on promotion of mother tongue but the initiative has remained largely symbolic. “We cannot promote a language through slogans and policies alone. Real change starts in schools. Non availability of Kashmiri textbooks reflect a dangerous trend,” a senior teacher told Greater Kashmir, wishing not to be named.

The school teachers said that the supply of the same textbook was available in markets but JKBOSE did not distribute the textbook of the Kashmiri subject for government schools. Notably, the JK Board of School Education (BOSE) is entrusted to provide free supply of textbooks to government schools up to class 8th. Secretary JKBOSE Ghulam Hassan Sheikh said that Kashmiri and other additional language subjects were not included in the list of textbooks to be supplied free. "Some funds are provided for class 1st and 2nd primary for Kashmiri textbooks but from 3rd onwards, the students have to purchase the Kashmiri textbooks from the market," Secretary JKBOSE told Greater Kashmir.

However, the teachers said, no such communication has been intimated to the schools by the department and the students enrolled in government schools are not ready to purchase a single book from the market and wait for free textbooks. "If there is any such provision that the Kashmiri subject is not included in the list of free textbooks, then the same should have been communicated to schools through proper channels," the school teachers told Greater Kashmir.