One month after the devastating floods and unprecedented rains in Jammu province, many educational institutions remain closed as they have been declared unsafe. Students from these schools have been shifted to adjoining institutions to continue their studies.
Although all sectors were badly affected by the incessant rains that lasted for eight days during the last week of August, which resulted in devastating floods, the education sector has emerged as the worst hit, with hundreds of school buildings declared unsafe.
According to an official safety audit of more than 8,800 schools, over 5,500 institutions were issued safety certificates. Of these, nearly 5,200 were deemed structurally sound, while 758 were declared unsafe for students and staff.
"Students of schools that have been declared unsafe have been shifted to adjoining institutions so that their studies do not suffer," Chief Education Officer (CEO) Jammu, Ajit Sharma, told The International Business Times. He said the safety audit of almost all schools has been completed.
Ensuring continuity of education in these unsafe schools has now become one of the biggest challenges for the authorities.
Amid growing concerns, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Legislative Assembly, chaired by former minister and BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma, directed the administration to conduct a fresh safety audit of all school buildings, particularly in flood-affected areas. The panel emphasized that immediate safety measures must be implemented to safeguard students' lives.
PAC members also urged the government to complete ongoing projects within stipulated timelines and pay urgent attention to repairing and maintaining damaged school infrastructure. They stressed that accountability be fixed on officers responsible for delays and sought a comprehensive report on project violations.
Reiterating the PAC's mandate of promoting transparency, fiscal discipline, and accountability, Sharma underlined the importance of providing students with safe and quality educational facilities. The Committee also recommended adopting vertical construction models for the judicious use of available land in the future.
Union Govt Assures Full Support
Union Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Sanjay Kumar, who called on the Minister for Education on Monday, assured full support from the Centre to strengthen the education sector. He also briefed the Minister about his extensive field visit and assessment of various schools in Budgam and Srinagar districts.
During the deliberations, the Union Secretary assured the Minister of complete support from the Centre for infrastructure development and modernization of schools to ensure universal access to quality education for all children in Jammu and Kashmir.
At the outset, the Minister stressed the need for reforms in the Samagra Shiksha scheme to make it more student-centric and outcome-oriented. The Minister also asked the Secretary to establish more ICT labs in schools, particularly in rural and far-flung areas, and to make provisions for subject-specific teachers under Samagra Shiksha or any other scheme.
"Our focus is on expanding vocational and skill-based education, ensuring that our students are future-ready. For this, support from the Central Government is crucial to upgrade infrastructure and take the education sector of J&K to new heights," the Minister said.
She further said that the government is working to expedite the recruitment of teachers to improve the pupil-teacher ratio and strengthen the teaching-learning process.
The Union Secretary appreciated the progress made by the J&K Government and reiterated that the Centre is committed to extending all possible assistance to the UT in developing robust school infrastructure, digital learning platforms, and capacity-building for teachers.
