Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 5: In the much expected cabinet reshuffle in coming days, the Education portfolio, presently held by Altaf Bukhari is likely to be distributed among two ministers from the PDP.
Sources said Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti wants Bukhari to "concentrate more" on Finance Ministry, which was given to him last month after the ouster of Haseeb Drabu from the cabinet.
Instead of giving the entire Education portfolio to one minister, as had been the precedence in the present regime, the government looks ahead to segregate School Education from Higher Education, said sources.
Sources said two names have already been shortlisted to bag the portfolios. Both the PDP lawmakers are from north Kashmir and presently hold berths in the cabinet.
It was reliably learnt that Mehbooba has conveyed the decision to Altaf Bukhari, who is nowadays busy with his new assignment of Finance.
"Chief Minister doesn't want any of the ministries to be overburdened lest it affects the functioning of the respective ministry," said a PDP leader.
Till now, in the last three years of governance, only a single minister from the PDP was holding the twin portfolios of the School and Higher Educations. Prior to Bukhari, the portfolio was with Naeem Akhter.
Naeem, however, had to lose this ministry allegedly due to his "revengeful tactics" with the "teaching community."
"During his regime the teachers were forced to spend more time protesting on the roads than teaching in the classroom," said a senior PDP leader.
The PDP leadership believes that the new faces would give a new lease of life to the education sector. "For the past three years these twin departments have suffered a lot mainly due to allegations of rampant corruption and favouritism, and such complaints keep pouring in," said a PDP leader.
He however said the date for cabinet reshuffle is yet to be finalized. |
