J&K Assembly rejects bill for mandatory govt school education for govt servants & public representatives’ kids

Srinagar: The J&K Assembly on Thursday rejected a private member’s bill seeking mandatory enrolment of children of government servants & public servants in government schools.

The Bill, moved by Langate MLA Sheikh Khursheed Ahmad, sought leave to introduce legislation aimed at making government schooling obligatory for children of public men and public servants.

The government opposed the Bill, with Education Minister Sakina Itoo saying that while she respected its intent, mandatory enrolment in government schools was not feasible. She said infrastructure in government schools was being upgraded and acknowledged that some schools still required improvement.

She said the remaining schools would also be taken up for upgradation in the future.

Itoo also said children have the fundamental right and liberty to choose where they want to pursue their education.

She also cited NEET qualifiers from government schools to underline that students from these institutions were achieving success.

She stressed that focus should be on convincing people about the quality of government schools rather than making enrolment compulsory and requested Khursheed to withdraw the Bill.

The MLA pressed for the Bill, arguing that infrastructure alone could not improve the situation in government schools. He said enrolment was equally important and that increasing enrolment could contribute to improving the overall situation in government schools.

Policymakers should examine the issue, he said, as he argued that children of ministers, MLAs, and government employees should also be enrolled in government schools.

The bill was finally rejected by the house.

Government schools in J&K face severe systemic problems in contrast with the operational dynamics of private schools. Despite having highly qualified, highly paid teachers, the government school network struggles with institutional neglect and a widening trust deficit.

The primary contrasts between government and private schools in J&K are structured across key operational categories.

According to official data from the Ministry of Education, government schools in J&K average only 4.8 teachers per school, compared to 13.7 teachers per school in private institutions. This creates major administrative and pedagogical gaps.

Government school teachers are frequently pulled away for non-teaching administrative duties, including Booth Level Officer (BLO) election duty and census data work, leaving classrooms entirely unattended.

In government institutes, if a teacher is absent or deployed elsewhere, there is rarely a replacement system. Private schools maintain internal reserves to swap teachers and maintain daily timetables.

Many rural government schools feature crumbling walls, lack basic electricity, and function with a stark shortage of basic classroom equipment.

Infrastructure reports indicate that 20 per cent of government schools lack functional toilet facilities for female students.

IANS