Students across Kashmir protest; resolve ‘no schooling, no exam, only Azaadi’

‘First bullets, then pellets, now exam’

Students of classes 10 and 12 across Kashmir on Thursday held protests, to show solidarity with their counterparts who were blinded by pellets in the ongoing unrest in Kashmir.

The protesting students vowed to boycott examination to show solidarity with Insha (a small girl who was blinded by a pellet earlier), demand justice for pellet survivors, students jailed and “our brothers killed by forces.”

The students were carrying placards reading: “Will not appear in exams until Kashmir issue is resolved; save children save future.”

A group of such students in school uniform led a protest march at Pantha Chowk, here and raised slogans: ‘stop killings in Kashmir’ and ‘stop blinding people in Kashmir’.

The students were holding placards displaying ‘Don’t pellet my exams, no exams till resolution of Kashmir issue’.

The students said they were ready to “sacrifice” their one year of education. “There are hundreds of students who were maimed and blinded by the forces during the protests in the ongoing uprising in Kashmir who can’t appear in exams due to their disability inflicted upon them by the Indian forces.

“In view of the ongoing situation, we have decided not to appear in examination dates of which have been announced by the authorities recently. We are for permanent resolution of Kashmir issue,” they said.

Scores of such students also took out a protest march from HMT area of Srinagar to Press Enclave, here. They held placards reading: ‘Ready to sacrifice our future; no schooling, no exam, only Azaadi’.

They students were raising slogans like ‘Boycott boycott, examination boycott.’

“This protest is aimed to convey a message to Education Minister, Naeem Akhtar that we are not going to sit in exams until and unless the long-pending issue of Kashmiris is resolved,” said a group of protesting students.

“Mainstream politicians who are expressing their concern about the future of Valley students should pitch for the resolution of Kashmir issue as the unresolved issue has claimed innocent lives in Kashmir,” they said.

They asked: “How can those students appear in the examination who have been maimed and blinded in Kashmir. What will they do? Won’t they lose their precious year?”

Scores of students staged a protest against the Education Minister Naeem Akhtar and the state government in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

The protesting students from 10th and 12th classes were demanding deferment of examinations.

Carrying placards with messages like “give me eyesight, I will take my exam (sic)”, ‘No exams till the solution’, “First pellets, then bullets, now exam’ and ‘boycott exams”, the protesting students said, “they would boycott examinations till the human rights violations in Kashmir were stopped.”

“The government should stop playing politics on students. How can we sit in examination when we haven’t completed even 30 percent of the syllabi,” they asked.

The protesting students tried to march from Higher Secondary School, Pulwama to Deputy Commissioner’s office but were stopped by the forces.

Hundreds of students from various private and public schools assembled in Palhallan village of Pattan and staged protest demonstration against the Education Minister.

They were demanding to conduct examinations of class 10 and 12 in March 2017.

Students tried to march towards the highway. Police fired teargas shells to disperse them.

Reports of similar protests were received from Anantnag, Kulgam, Tral, Kupwara and other areas of Kashmir, where students refused to sit in exams.

The State Board of School Education (BOSE) recently issued date sheet for the conduct of annual examination of classes 10 and 12 in Kashmir division.

As per the notification the annual examination for Class 10th will begin from 15 November 2016 and conclude on 28 November 2016 while for Class 12th it will begin on 14 November 2016 and conclude on 3 December 2016.

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