20 pc students, 60 pc staff turn up despite attacks on few buses, schools


Educational institutions open in Valley after three months of shutdown

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 27: Even as the separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani asked the Kashmiris not to send their children to school and his followers operated to harass staff, students and parents at several places, educational institutions in Kashmir valley opened today after three months of shutdown. Authorities have resolved to carry out all academic activities, including holding of annual examinations, in defiance of a call from the radical faction of Hurriyat Conference.

Most of the private schools refused to operate in defiance of Geelani’s call but reports available from all ten district headquarters in the Valley said that all government schools and colleges, besides a number of private educational institutions, resumed academic activity after nearly months of continued shutdown and curfew. In Srinagar, all four of the leading Christian Missionary schools---Tyndale Biscoe, Mallinson, Presentation Convent and Burn Hall---opened in the morning. Teaching as well as non-teaching staff turned up for duty but very few students dared to attend their classes.

With enrolment of around 10,000 students, these four schools---partly funded by the state government---are the learning centers of the Valley’s elite. Nervous parents were seen ferrying and escorting their children to the classrooms. Most of remaining private schools had decided to wait and watch results of today’s defiance by some parents and teachers. A number of them are now expected to send their children to schools in view of the annual examinations approaching fast.

Reports said that a large number of government schools opened in the capital city under tight security arrangements but few teachers and students turned up for the classroom activity. According to these reports, parents and students defying Geelani’s call were harassed and sent back to home by saboteurs at several places. Reports of stone pelting on vehicles were also received from at least four places in the capital city.

Government had overnight mobilized its machinery for safe and secure transportation of students and the staff with instructions to Police and security forces that the uniform of pupils and photo-identity cards of teaching and non-teaching staff be entertained as curfew passes. Curfew remained strictly in force till 1400 hours. J&K State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) had deployed over a hundred buses of its fleet for transportation of students, their parents and staff of all educational institutions in Srinagar alone. Police protection was in place in all buses to ensure safety and security of the young students, their parents and staff.

Reports from remaining nine rural district headquarters said that most of the government-run as well as private educational institutions resumed activity in the face of threats from unruly groups, calling themselves as Geelani’s followers, and reassuring statements from the authorities. Independent reports said that nearly 20 percent students turned up for classroom activity while as around 60 percent of the staff attended duty.

In peripheral areas of the capital city, youngsters on motorcycles appeared at a number of schools and forced their closure with harassment to staff as well as students and their parents. Deputy Commissioner of Budgam, Mohammad Rafi, told Early Times that the staff and the students were harassed at Government High School Bemina, two Higher Secondary Schools at Beerwah besides a number of schools on Srinagar-Chadoura and Srinagar-Neewa Road. He said that there were around half-a-dozen incidents of stone pelting on schools and buses. However, nobody had been reported injured till late this afternoon.

DC Budgam said that a female lecturer got hit against CGI sheets and sustained injuries when unruly groups resorted to stone pelting on a Higher Secondary School at Kanipora. Some parents in Beerwa town expressed surprise over the way authorities had left two major government schools unguarded and there was no Police presence. They said that miscreants harassed and humiliated the staff as well as students and their parents at Beerwah and did not allow the educational institutions function.

Reports from Kupwara said that miscreants resorted to stone pelting on a government-run Degree college and disrupted the B Ed examinations underway. The examiners and the examinees remained in confinement for over two hours. Reports of similar disruption poured in from Rangreth, Rawalpora, Manchhwa and Nowgam localities in the capital city outskirts.

Authoritative sources said that government was initiating action, including detention, against at least ten teachers, three of them in Baramulla alone, who were reportedly found defying government orders and harassing students and their parents by way of asking them to stay indoors.

Expressing satisfaction over opening of educational institutions across Kashmir Valley today, Minister for School Education, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, said that 80% students attended their schools in rural areas today. He claimed that 30 to 40% attendance was recorded in urban areas. In Srinagar he said 30% students and 85% of the staff resumed their activities in different government and private educational institutions. He appealed to the microscopic anti-education elements not to harass majority of pro-education population.

Terming the opening of schools as a good beginning in right direction, Peerzada called for avoiding politicking on the issue. “ We cannot afford to derive any political gains on opening of schools and resuming academic activities as the issue concerns career of Lakhs of students, whose future has to be safeguarded by one and all”, he said and added that safety of the young students was the topmost priority.

The Minister said that Department of Education would strictly maintain its examination calendar from 30th September till mid of December in which 11 lakh students would appear. He appreciated the bravery of students and teachers who attended the classes today.

He called for utilizing morning assembly time as well as recess break for compensating academic loss so that students were prepared for the examinations the schedule of which had been already announced.

Peerzada appreciated forthcoming parents and teachers whose dedication, he believed, had helped to open the schools today, bringing good prospects for all the stake holders in education sector.

Giving a break-up of attendance, Peerzada said Anantnag, Kulgam, Baramulla and Kupwara districts registered 75% turnout by students, Shopian 60%, Bandipora and Ganderbal 50% each, Pulwama 30% and Budgam and Srinagar around 30% each.

Harassment by stone palters at Chattabal, Soura, Newtheed, Nowshera, Nowhatta, Middle School Gori Masjid Saidakadal, Rainawari and Bagwanpora was also resisted by parents, locals as well as students. It was with the help of locals that no harm was allowed to cause to school building.

In an interview with a local news agency, Geelani this evening asserted that the government’s plans of opening educational institutions on the day of Hurriyat’s “civil curfew” had ended up in a fiasco. He claimed that very few schools opened---with just skeletal attendance. He claimed to enjoy full support of the Kashmir population to his calendars of shutdown. He reiterated that education was extremely important but the struggle of Kashmir’s freedom from India was supreme and paramount.

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