The failure of public education

There was a time when government schools used to play a great role in the education field. Now the preference of most parents is to send their children to private schools.

This is not happening in the city or towns only but in rural areas also. Despite this tendency, large number of government schools continue to operate across Jammu and Kashmir.

But roll of students in most of these schools is decreasing with every passing academic session. The efforts at various official levels to motivate the parents to send their kids to government schools are not having the desired results on the ground.

These efforts can prove successful if basic facilities are made available for the students in the schools. The schools must have adequate space and adequate teaching staff.

There are schools which operate from rented structures. Some middle schools have only two to three rooms. In some schools, the building is in a dilapidated condition. Some schools function in incomplete buildings as the construction work was never completed. Then in some schools there are not toilets. If toilets are there then those are not separate for boys and girls.

Some schools do not have drinking water, electricity, playgrounds, laboratories and libraries. Shortage of teachers also affects functioning in some schools. All these facilities have to be made available in government schools for the improvement.

The recent direction of the Union Ministry of Education (MoE) to J&K School Education Department (SED) is a welcome step. SED has been directed to ensure saturation of all the facilities in government schools by March 31, 2025.

MoE has stated  that all the government schools under the Samagra Shiksha have been equipped with various facilities to ensure that all children, regardless of differences, have universal access to schooling.

It added that the focus should be now on saturation of facilities including portable drinking water, electricity, girls' and boys' toilets, sports facility, and sports fields by March 31, 2025. MoE has also referred to the incomplete skill education laboratories in the Jammu and Kashmir schools.

Out of the 1315 skill education laboratories approved to J&K, only 553 are functional and 762 are pending. The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, underscores the importance of skill education for all students, especially those in the secondary stage of schooling.

There is a need to provide all the required facilities in all the government schools in Jammu and Kashmir. And this should be done at the earliest. There is sizeable population who cannot afford to send their kids to private schools. Their children should not be deprived of their right to education.