Ulfat Riyaz
Kashmir, once known as The paradise on earth, now has the distinction of being a caged part of the world under different epidemics, for living under acute and severe conditions facing different episodes of trouble and hardships and enormous human rights violations for many decades. That includes a vicious circle of events like comprising torture, disappearances, displacement, assignations, explosions, killings, ballistic trauma, grieving, insecurity, oppression, poverty, uncertainties of career, relationships etc.
Thousands of people lost their lives and property and thousands were rendered orphans and widows. Scores have disappeared. And those trying express realities to the world are being charged under unlawful acts. Frequent internet bans have affected every sphere of life be it business, communication or education. Draconian laws have dramatically changed the life and existence.
The new fear of Covid -19 outbreak has again turned home into a pretty prison as virus gripped, around the globe. The demon has wreaked havoc across continents and the fear of death is dancing on streets. Talk shows on Television and messages on social media which include rumors add to the dread to people of Kashmir, who have already been trapped by the conflict.
Above all, the situation has taken toll on the region’s education system at alarming rate and has left it paralyzed. Prior to the Covid 19, when the world was running smooth, the saga of Kashmir was different nonetheless. With the abrogation of Article 35A special status of J&K was snatched. And on 5th of August 2019 the state was put under lockdown which stretched long- for eight good months. The education system was all shut. There were no classroom activities; schools , colleges and universities were closed for a long period of time . High speed Internet continues to be a privilege for people living in Kashmir.
Coping with online education on 2G speed is a gag, which has become an allegory of the quality of our education. Today when the world is providing online teaching access to students around the world, students in Kashmir are hitting hands and feet to get the Zoom app which has been set as the primary learning platform, started. Our scholars have no access to internet. Untrained teachers, who are strangers to the internet and online teaching add to the faulty system.
If you fall in any of these categories you can recognize the wastage of time, potential and energy. If you, an online trainer, question yourself, who will bring the time of your students back? The academic sessions get betwixt and between neither complete nor incomplete. In accordance let me add my friend’s episode. She was ecstatic. When she had finished her application which had taken her months of preparation and planning to complete. All that she awaited was a letter of recommendation from her professor which she expected to reach her on the 7th of August. On 5th of August, the Internet and online communication were snapped across the valley, the phone calls were barred, and nothing was to change for the next eight months. Her dream to study abroad was put into vain.
Learning, one of the most powerful things, allows an individual to find the meaning of life and thus improves the quality of life in a subtle but massive way. Education is the platform that makes it possible to defeat all barriers. Unfortunately the education in Kashmir has been highly unsuccessful in associating itself to the world scenario of education. The impact of the uncertainty in Kashmir on education is so adverse, our youngsters face multiple challenges when it comes to quality education, potential for Growth is being wasted by disallowing a fair amount of population to learn and evolve. One of the major challenges of education in conflict situations is the discontinuities, it creates, the impact on student’s academic performance as well as their Psycho–social developments.
Now students are suffering mental issues like depression, anxiety, trauma, which increases with each passing day. Depression is more likely following particular classes of experience, those involving conflict, disruption, losses and experiences of humiliation or entrapment. The World Health Organization has ranked depression as the 3rd among the list of the most urgent health problems worldwide and has predicted it to become number two in terms of disease burden by 2020 overriding diabetes, cancer, arthritis etc.
Physical violence may be easier to identify, name and quantify than psychic or symbolic violence so are we. The scars are deep but hopes are high.
The Author Ulfat Riyaz is M.Sc Geography from University of Kashmir, She Can be reached at Ulf