The decline of government schools in Jammu and Kashmir is no longer a distant warning; it is an active, unfolding emergency
NASIR RASHEED
Across Jammu and Kashmir, from smart cities to remote villages, government schools are falling apart. They stand as sad reminders of broken promises. The paint peels from wet walls, and the buildings offer no protection against the bitter winter cold or the scorching summer heat. Worst of all is the deep silence inside these empty classrooms.
A school meant to echo with the chatter of hundreds of children now sees only a handful of students scattered across rows of empty, dusty benches. A couple of overworked teachers shuffle between classrooms, attempting the impossible task of teaching multiple grades simultaneously. This is not an isolated incident; it is a recurring vignette across the Union Territory.
The most glaring symptom of this systemic decay is not just the crumbling brick and mortar, but the alarming, unprecedented drop in student enrolment. The classrooms are emptying and with them, the hope for a brighter future. Across India, the education sector is undergoing a vibrant, dynamic transformation, propelled by the visionary National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the progressive National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023.
The grand, modern visions of the NEP seem like distant mirages to institutions that are struggling daily for basic drinking water, functional toilets and adequate teaching staff. The tragedy of this decline is magnified by the fact that these government schools are not merely alternative options; they are the very backbone of educational development in Jammu and Kashmir.
A school cannot function as a sanctuary for learning if the building itself is fighting a losing battle against the elements. In many areas of J&K, government schools suffer from a glaring lack of basic amenities. Students and teachers are forced to endure inadequate, overcrowded classrooms with broken furniture and leaking roofs.
Teacher shortages are chronic, exacerbated by instances of absenteeism and the frequent, disruptive deployment of existing teaching staff for non-educational administrative duties. However, the most significant and frustrating issue lies in the systemic paralysis of hiring: there has been no new teacher recruitment in J&K by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) since 2017.
Because of this years-long freeze on recruitment, thousands of qualified B.Ed. and M.Ed. professionals are facing a severe unemployment crisis. These are young, driven professionals thoroughly trained in the pedagogy, methodology and philosophy of teaching. While the modern world moves toward interactive, tech-driven and child-centric education, J&K’s government schools remain stuck in the past.
Outdated teaching methods relying heavily on rote memorisation continue to dominate, primarily because the majority of teachers lack access to modern teaching resources, digital smart boards or updated teaching-learning materials. Students passing through this fractured system frequently fail to meet basic age-appropriate literacy and numeracy benchmarks, leaving them entirely unprepared to compete with their privately educated peers in the real world.
As confidence in state-run education plummets, an unprecedented exodus is underway. Driven by sheer desperation, even low-income families are making agonising financial sacrifices, scraping together whatever meagre funds they can to enroll their children in private institutions. Parents are willing to cut back on basic household necessities rather than gamble with their children’s futures in empty, under-resourced classrooms.
Perhaps the most glaring indictment of this systemic failure is a profound, open irony: government school teachers themselves overwhelmingly choose to send their own wards to private schools. It begs a devastating question: if the very educators tasked with running these institutions lack faith in them, how can the public be expected to trust them?
Over the past decade, a disturbing administrative trend has emerged where thousands of government schools have been clubbed or merged with nearby institutions, effectively shuttering vital educational hubs across various localities. In a region experiencing steady population growth, logic dictates a proportional expansion of educational infrastructure; instead, Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a paradoxical and alarming contraction.
Consequently, a growing number of students, particularly those in geographically challenging areas, are being stripped of their localised access to learning. This systematic closure is not merely an administrative oversight; it is a direct violation of the constitutional guarantees enshrined in Article 21A and Article 45 of the Indian Constitution, which mandate free and compulsory education for children.
Furthermore, it blatantly contradicts the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically the global commitment to inclusive and equitable education, thereby reducing what is universally recognised as a basic, fundamental human right into an inaccessible privilege for the region’s most vulnerable youth.
This mass migration to the private sector does not happen in a vacuum; it leaves behind a devastating trail of widening inequality. It is crucial to recognise that in Jammu and Kashmir, the majority of the population is currently grappling with severe financial instability and a pervasive job crisis.
Ultimately, the decay of public education in J&K is not merely an administrative failure; it is an active engine of systemic inequality. It is carving a deep socio-economic chasm where the privileged can buy their way toward a brighter future, while the underprivileged are left trapped in a relentless cycle of limited opportunities and broken promises.
To reverse this alarming decline and rescue the future of millions of children in Jammu & Kashmir, piecemeal reforms and temporary administrative bandages will no longer suffice. What is urgently required is a comprehensive, multi-pronged overhaul of the entire government school ecosystem, backed by unwavering political will and grassroots community action.
The immediate first step is to ensure that schools are safe, dignified and inviting spaces for learning. A school cannot foster 21st-century learning if its foundation is crumbling. Upgrading these physical spaces sends a powerful psychological message to students and parents alike: that the state values their future. The lifeblood of any educational institution is its teaching staff, and J&K’s schools are currently on life support.
The government must immediately lift the indefinite freeze on hiring that has paralysed the system since 2017. Initiating fresh, transparent and expedited teacher recruitment drives is the need of the hour. There is a massive, untapped intellectual reservoir of unemployed youth holding B.Ed. and M.Ed. degrees across the region. Leaving this highly trained demographic to languish in unemployment is not just an administrative failure; it is a tragic waste of human capital. Simply filling vacancies is not enough; the system must hire the right teachers under the right frameworks.
To avoid the legal loopholes and quality compromises that plagued past recruitment drives, the rules must be completely reframed. This new framework must strictly adhere to the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) norms, align with the progressive vision of NEP 2020 and respect recent Supreme Court guidelines.
Education cannot be a rigid, one-size-fits-all model, especially in a region as geographically, linguistically and culturally diverse as Jammu and Kashmir. The implementation of a decentralised curriculum is important. While aligning with the broader National Curriculum Framework (NCF), the localised syllabus must reflect regional histories, ecology and immediate socio-economic realities.
Coupled with a reformed, decentralised curriculum, there is an urgent need for the development of high-quality, modern textbooks. The new generation of textbooks must be meticulously designed to promote critical thinking, foundational literacy and analytical skills. They must be inclusive, beautifully illustrated and structured to encourage inquiry-based learning.
Government schools are public assets, and the public must be empowered to reclaim them. Meaningful community involvement is the most effective safeguard against administrative apathy. Village Education Committees (VECs) must be revitalised and given actual, teeth-bearing authority rather than existing as mere rubber-stamp bodies.
The school education system must not operate in an isolated silo; it must be continuously nourished by higher education. The government should actively bridge the gap between primary schools and academia by utilising the specialised services of the Departments of Education across different universities in J&K.
The decline of government schools in Jammu and Kashmir is no longer a distant warning; it is an active, unfolding emergency. Every day that passes without decisive, systemic intervention is another day that a classroom empties, a trained teacher’s potential is squandered, and a child from a marginalised community is quietly pushed to the fringes of society. The stark, undeniable contrast between the ambitious, forward-looking goals of the NEP 2020 and the crumbling reality on the ground in J&K cannot be ignored any longer.
The window of opportunity to bridge this widening chasm is rapidly closing, and the time for bureaucratic complacency has long passed. Ultimately, the state of our public education system is a direct reflection of our commitment to our own future.
Government schools are far more than just brick-and-mortar structures; they are the incubators of our society’s next generation. They are the sacred spaces where the children of farmers, labourers and the working class dare to dream of a life beyond their current socio-economic constraints. To allow these foundational institutions to decay is to deliberately extinguish those dreams.
Revitalising the government schools of Jammu and Kashmir is not merely a matter of administrative duty; it is a profound moral obligation. We must recognise that an educational system that only works for those who can afford it is not a system at all; it is a privilege masquerading as a right. Failing to rescue these public schools is a profound betrayal of our most vulnerable children. If we fail these classrooms, we are, without a shadow of a doubt, failing the very future of Jammu and Kashmir.
(The Author is a Research Scholar at the Department of Education, University of Kashmir. Email: nasirrasheededucation@gmail.com)
