Page 108 - Kashmir and National Education Policy by Dr. Amarpreet Kour

KASHMIR & NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY 2020 || DR. AMARPREET KOUR

Since 2020, we have been facing challenges in the implementation of
educational policies. Students in our area typically enrol in schools in
March but leave after six months to move to forests along with their
families. In seasonal schools, the majority of teachers are Kashmiri-
speaking, which creates a language barrier for Gujjari-speaking
students.

PHONE ADDICTION ISSUES

A Class 4 student at Middle School Jawalapora is facing severe
developmental and behavioural challenges due to excessive phone
addiction. The student attends school irregularly, only two to four days
a month, and even then, he struggles to remain in class for more than
two hours. He exhibits signs of fatigue, including puffy eyes, and his
speech development is stunted, as he communicates using only a single
word, “Badey,” meaning “home” in the Bihari language. Despite the
availability of mid-day meals, the child refuses to eat anything except
chips. The headmaster of the school, Ghulam Mohammad Wani, has
taken extraordinary efforts to address the issue. Concerned about the
student’s welfare, he frequently visits the child’s home to counsel his
parents, who are illiterate and dismissive of the problem, citing excuses
such as the child being unwell or uncomfortable at school. Upon
further inquiry with neighbours, the headmaster discovered that the
child spends most of his time at home, consuming 8-10 GB of internet
data daily. The child becomes frantic when the internet connection
is unavailable, further highlighting the extent of his addiction. The
headmaster remains deeply concerned and continues his efforts to help
the child despite the lack of cooperation from the parents.

TEXT BOOK ISSUES

Schools are not receiving textbooks on time. During the survey,
teachers expressed concerns about the poor quality of textbook paper,

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