SRINAGAR: Over 3,000 govt schools in J&K have had zero or less than 10 students since 2022, education minister Sakina Itoo told the assembly on Saturday.Of the 3,192 such schools,1494 are in Jammu division and 1,698 in Kashmir, National Conference’s (NC) Itoo said in a written reply to a question from BJP legislator RS Pathania.In Jammu, Kathua district has the highest number of such schools at 508. In Kashmir, Baramulla district tops the list of such schools with 396. Srinagar has the lowest number in the Valley with 90 such schools, while Poonch has the lowest in Jammu division with 17.The NC govt also disclosed major infrastructure gaps — 2,698 schools do not have boys’ toilets, 57 lack girls’ toilets, 9,078 schools have no boundary walls, and 10,896 schools lack playgrounds.Pathania called the numbers a “big expose”, arguing the data reflected a lack of public confidence in govt schools. “If people are not enrolling their children in these schools, why are they being opened,” he said, alleging the schools are being run mainly to accommodate teaching staff.Naeem Akhtar, former J&K education minister of PDP, called it a “serious situation” and accused the NC govt of reducing education as an employment scheme for some teachers while neglecting the prime duty of educating students. “Govt’s primary responsibility is human development. This data presents a dismal picture. It is not that there are no students. They are forced to move to private schools because of lack of facilities in govt schools and poor pedagogy,” Akhtar said.Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir (PSAJK) president Baba Nazrul Islam agreed that the data reflects growing preference for private schools due to better infrastructure, accountability and faster decision-making. He cautioned, however, that the govt shouldn’t view private schools as competitors but as “knowledge partners”. “If the govt agrees to collaborate with private schools, the issue can be addressed,” Islam said.
