Sanskrit subject in Kashmir schools: Govt says representation received, not approved
Srinagar, Jul 19: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday claimed that the communication regarding introduction of Sanskrit subject in Kashmir schools was received from the Secretariat of J&K Lieutenant Governor.
The J&K School Education Department (SED) said this while rebutting the story, regarding introduction of Sanskrit as Mandatory subject in schools, published in Greater Kashmir newspaper in its July 19 edition.
"The J&K School Education department has not received any communication/direction from the Ministry of Education, Government of India, regarding mandatory/optional introduction of Sanskrit in the curriculum of School Education,” SED in a statement said.
The government however said that the Secretariat of J&K Lieutenant Governor had received a representation from Shri Purshotam Lal Dube (NGO) for inclusion of Sanskrit in the schools/colleges of JKUT under the provisions of NEP 2020.
"The said communication was forwarded to the Higher/ School Education department by the Secretariat of Lieutenant Governor. Accordingly, SED forwarded the communication of GAD to Director School Education Jammu /Kashmir for furnishing of comments in the matter," the statement reads.
"Subsequently, the communication was forwarded to the sub-offices for comments," it reads.
Notably, Greater Kashmir on Saturday reported that J&K School Education Department (SED) has started an exhaustive exercise to seek details of Sanskrit teachers, existing vacancy of Sanskrit teachers in the schools.
"The SED has set a deadline of July 30 to complete the exercise and submit its feedback to the MoE, New Delhi," Greater Kashmir reported.
As per the official document, SED has sent an official communication vide number Edu/327/2023-01(7/724278) on May 26 of 2025 to SCERT with the instructions to collect details to ensure effective planning and execution of the initiative.
Following this, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Kashmir has sent an official communication to all District Institute of Education and Trainings (DIETs) for submission of data and information for implementation of Sanskrit education in schools.
“In alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, SCERT Kashmir is initiating the implementation of Sanskrit as a mandatory subject for classes 6th to 10th and an optional subject for classes 3rd to 5th across schools in Kashmir division. To ensure effective planning and execution, SCERT requires comprehensive data and information from all DIETs,” reads an official communication signed by Joint Director SCERT Kashmir.
“You are requested to provide the details by July 30, 2025,” the communication reads.
However, contrary to official communications, SED said it has not proposed, approved, or initiated any process for the inclusion of Sanskrit as a mandatory or optional subject in schools across Jammu & Kashmir.
"Department follows a transparent and consultative process for curriculum changes, in line with NEP 2020. Any future decision regarding the inclusion of new subjects will be officially communicated through proper channels after due deliberation," the SED statement reads.
