A Chapter Incomplete: Kashmir Schools Struggle as Textbooks Remain Elusive
Despite the passage of three weeks since the commencement of the new academic session in schools across Kashmir, the schools are still grappling with a severe shortage of textbooks, plunging students into academic limbo. The situation has put the parents in a troubling situation as their kids are without textbooks.
As the shortage of textbooks continues, the government school teachers revealed that students have only received a fraction of the required textbooks which they said had stalled their educational progress. The shortage persists despite assurances from authorities about timely distribution of textbooks in schools.
Earlier, Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE) Parikshat Singh Manhas said that the process for lifting of textbooks began on March 27, 2024, for Shopian and Srinagar districts, followed by other districts.
However, the government school teachers paint a different picture, stating that only partial sets of textbooks have reached students. A teacher from Baramulla said that students of class 8th did not receive textbooks of Kashmiri, Urdu, Civics, and Science while the class 7th students were yet to receive textbooks of Kashmiri.
Also, the students of class 6th have not yet received textbooks of Urdu, Kashmiri, and History while the students of class 5th have not received the textbooks of Urdu, Kashmiri, and Mathematics.
The teachers said that the class 4th primary students have not received English, Urdu, and Kashmiri textbooks while the 3rd primary students are waiting for Urdu and Kashmiri textbooks.
According to teachers, the schools have not received any textbooks for students of class 1st and 2nd primary. The shortage of textbooks has hit the academics in government schools at a time when the BOSE has ordered private schools to adopt the BOSE-prescribed textbooks for all classes.
However, the textbooks are not yet available in the market as the bookstores are still waiting for the delivery of the textbooks for which they booked the orders weeks ago. “Every day we send our people to the BOSE office to collect the books but no stock is available with them. Our people return disappointed every day,” said a bookseller from Baramulla.
He said that some textbooks for students of class 6th onwards were available but no textbooks were delivered for primary class students enrolled in private schools. “Every day we witness a huge rush of parents but we are not in a position to provide them with books because the BOSE has not delivered any textbooks yet,” the bookseller said.
Director Academics BOSE, Sudhir Singh earlier told that enough stock of textbooks was available for private schools. However, he said that the delivery of some textbooks, particularly the languages subject was in process and will reach the schools soon.
