In Jammu Kashmir, the participation of Muslims in education in general, and in higher education in particular, remains low in comparison to that of their Hindu counterparts, even in the Kashmir valley, where Muslims constitute about 95 percent of the populace.
This is inferable from the convention of advanced education and office occupation among the Hindus and the royal support they appreciated for more than 200 years.
Education is a critical input in development and is a catalyst for empowerment, poverty reduction and growth per se as it not only brings reduction in inequalities in society but also prepares the new generations for change by breaking the barriers and prejudices which impede cultural advancement and socio-economic development in the society.
However, woefully in Kashmir, research has demonstrated that there has been an extreme disruption in the educational sector in post-1989 (the year Kashmiri armed turmoil begun).
Hindering issues incorporate the obliteration of school structures, parent’s dread of sending their youngsters to class, the recruitment of youth into armed groups, the financial decrease of family units, and constrained uprooting. Both militancy and militarization have influenced practically all parts of the valley, yet one gathering which has seen its effects most unfavorably are students.
There is an intrinsic relationship between conflict and education. In 2016, not long after the killing of a militant commander Burhan Wani, educational institutions remained shut for eight months during agitation.While around then, schools in South Kashmir bore the most extreme brunt, during the last seven months, the entire Kashmir Valley has seen the consistent conclusion of schools.
Post 2016
“I recall I was planning for my second semester exams,” said Shameem Ahmad, masters student at Kashmir University, “which were scheduled for July, following the Burhan incident and the ensuing distress ultimately took a heavy toll on our education and academic activities when the authorities postponed our end semester exams till December. It at last prompted the loss of one scholastic year for my clump”.
Not long after the fruition of graduation, Shameem’s bunch entered the university space without realizing that there is an extreme road ahead.
The battle ready commitment with the contention in the valley in the course of recent decades has placed harmony and militarisation in one continuum, making another type of ‘typical’ in Kashmir. This deception of commonality shows to the remainder of the world that all is well in Kashmir.
In any case, the ongoing declarations of the understudy network from Kashmir will demonstrate that an all out mayhem and confusion post-August 5, 2019, has antagonistically influenced the lives of individuals in the Valley. Different human rights associations have underscored the negative effect of conflict on students. There are different structures to it, for example, structural, social, and mental, and many experience post-horrendous pressure issues.
As per India spend since July 2016; schools and universities in Kashmir were closed down for 60% on the working days. Between January 2012 to 2019, 278 internet shutdowns were recorded in Kashmir. When online networking has become a focal piece of our lives, and the web is critical to this, the effect of web bars is felt distinctly by the student community living in/out of Kashmir.
Post-Abrogation of article 370 and a few declarations:
“A year ago our first semester tests were successfully held by the university and our subsequent semester classes were going to start from August 5th when the Government of India de-operationalized the Article 370 in this manner disavowing of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and the bifurcating our state into two UTs, said Shameem, so the classes which were about to begin from August at last began from December, so this harm to this educational cost is un-salvageable”.
Aside from the injured academic part, well-being administrations were seriously influenced – there was a general deficiency of prescriptions, exacerbated by the restriction on correspondence. Business and monetary movement endured overwhelming misfortunes. A report by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) evaluated that, during the initial 120 days after the lockdown was forced, the economy endured a total loss of Rs 17,878 crore.
“The sentiments of dehumanization, torment, and infringement of the feeling of self that is basic among us all”, said another student wished not to be named.
In this specific circumstance, it gets basic to ask how educational organizations can work in a contention zone, especially post 5th August 2019?
COVID-19 pandemic and the systematic exclusion of the student community
The COVID-19 emergency has shocked the worldwide economy with an inescapable effect on practically all segments.
On March 12 JK administration ordered for suspension of classwork in all educational establishments in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic which claimed hundreds of lives across the valley.
The MHRD instructed the Universities and higher educational organizations not long after the suspension of the classwork to get ready online substance and online lessons during the conclusion of time frame. The educational institutions of Kashmir in the end embraced online methods of instruction. Numerous students are raising worries about online procedures of academic work and the failure of the students in getting to the online materials relating to the area.
“During the initial a few months of the lockdown, the university has no clue about what to do and how to continue”, said another anonymous university student.
“I am paying 6,000 rupees lease for each month in Srinagar just to go to the web classes”, said Shameem, adding, “on the grounds that in our general vicinity we have nonstop system issues”.
Various students raised worries about the non inclusive idea of web-based adapting particularly in J&K where the officials put ceaseless checks on 4G web speed and even shielded at SC that entrance to the web is certainly not an essential right.
“In spite of the fact that our bunch quality is 150, yet I have never observed in excess of 40 members during the web classes,” said Shameem, “Just about 70% of my batch mates are from South Kashmir where the web is snapped every other day. They don’t have any count of what number of web classes they missed, how much syllabus we have finished. We despite everything don’t have any contact with some of them since the suspension of classwork”.
“we have been trapped in the nonstop example of turmoil and cluelessness and we haven’t been given any help from the university either”, said one student, requesting anonymity.