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| Winter schooling a failed experiment | | |
For achieving desired results there is no harm in experimenting with new strategies and ideas.But experimenting with ideas that ultimately prove counterproductive is more abominable and harmful than avoiding experimenting at all.And the National Conference led Government experimented with an idea which has not been experimented on during the last several decades.Possibly the Government in general and the Educaion Minister,Peerzada Mohd.Syeed,thought it better to bid adieu to the established practice of following the long winter vacation in the educational institutions,especially in the schools,in order to spare the kids and teenagers from the rigours of cold wave, snow and sleet.However,the Peerzada had different ideas.He wanted to set an example and earn Padam Shri if not Bharat Ratna for introducing winter schooling system in the winter zone of the Kashmir valley.His idea was not wrong because he wanted students to make up for the loss of studies they had to suffer owing to five-month long civilian strife when besides offices and banks educational institutions r emained shut.Unfortunately the Minister did not take into account the lack of basic facilities in the valley-based schools.It was erroneous on the part of the minister to keep his eyes shut while the students trembled in the suzero temperature in the dilapidated school buildings where even minimum heating arrangements neither existed nor could be arranged for.
And the latest reports revealed that the Education Department was reviewing its policy on keeping the schools open during the winter months.No doubt these schools had to be kept open only for classes between 9th and 12th still students felt so miserable that the entire valley was rocked by public outcry and number of protest demonstrations staged by the student community.The uproar in the valley over the Government's policy on winter schooling was so sharp that the High court had to intervene.The Court directed the Government to make heating arrangements in the school buildings so that the student community faced no hardships of severe winter.The Court has directed the Deputy Commissioners to monitor the arrangements.The Court has made specific directions to the Government saying that it should make arrangements for heating facilities in those schools that have been kept open during the winter months.It was interesting to see Peerzada Mohd.Syeed warming himself in front of a room heater in his office chambers in the civil secretariat and in the cosy ministerial bunglow in Jammu while students in the valley were chattering their teeth in subzeo temperature.Having been in politics for a long time and enjoying power for many years Peerzada may have forgotten the rigours of winter life in Kashmir as he has been migrating to Jammu during the winter months for the last over three decades.
Well whether the Peerzada wanted to get students brave to the extent that they are able to withstand the cold wave and subzero temperature without keeping a "kangri"close to their belly or encourage them in enjoying the beauty of the icicles hanging by the wall or the roof fringe is not as important as his ignorance of the academic calender in the valley.Whether the students completed their syllabus or not he had no idea about it.He had no idea about the need,if at all there was any,for keeping the schools open for class 10th,11th and 12th.It is so because the annual examination schedule for these classes had been completed by the end of November or at the most by the first week of December.If it was so what was the need for experimenting with the winter schooling? If Peerzada wanted students to complete the unfinished syllabus but he did not know which syllabus had remained unfinished when the annual examinations were over.Agreed that there was no harm in experimenting with the winter school system in the valley but the Government needed to have made arrangements for heating facilities so that there was no discomfort to the teenagers.Atleast the winter schooling could have allowed a breathing time from those teenagers who remained engaged in stone pelting.Once the schools remained open those very teenagers who were seen resorting to stone pelting would have remained busy in the classrooms.No wonder the Government would have experimented with the abolition of the century old Durbar move system had it not been aware of the dangers of a peoples' revolt in the Jammu region.Instead of wasting money on arranging heating facilities it would be better for the Government to revert back to the old system.
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