Internet these days can be hardly seen working in every district of the Kashmir, each day, we have a problem in some part of the valley which is first responded with the suspension of internet services. Now if the government cannot do away with internet bans then it should immediately consider reshaping the online mechanisms in educational institutes, particularly universities. The official work in the universities, which has a lot do with the students is done over the internet. From applying for a library membership to submission of registration forms, downloading fee reciepts and syllabuses, all of this has been made available online. This facility was provided to the students for their convenience but now with the frequent internet bans, this online facility has turned out to be an inconvenience for the students.
For every registration, whether it be for semester or examination, students are given almost ten days but the students prefer to do it in the first two days of stipulated time because there is always a chance of internet services getting blocked. Last week when internet was blocked in south Kashmir, many students could not do their semester registration in the IUST Awantipora, it was then on the request of students that the concerned authority agreed to extend the last date of form submission by few more days.
When the Modi government government took the initiative of cashless society, a workshop was conducted in our university aiming to promote the same and the students were advised to make payment in the canteen by using apps like Paytm. The students murmured their response to this advice by saying “the internet speed in Kashmir is pathetic, we can’t even download our readings on time from the internet let alone making online transactions.” Interestingly, this workshop was conducted days after internet services were restored in the Kashmir after remaining suspended for over four months.
The student community in Kashmir which mostly comprises of youth are just cherished in front of cameras by some while as some do it when the youth come out into the streets. On other occasions when students raise their genuine demands they are left to fend for themselves.
Recently, I had to check the board exam result of my relative and at that time the internet services were blocked in Kashmir. I called one of my friend who was stationed in Chandigarh to check the result for me. Not everyone in Kashmir has a friend outside the state who can check the examination results for them. It would be better if the government will direct the JKBOSE to publish the results in the gazettes and newspapers because no one knows whether the internet will be working or not at the time of result declaration.
The broadband services which keep functioning normally during the time of the internet ban is available in towns and city only while as the internet access in the villages comes from mobile phones. In the absence of mobile internet the students who belong to villages are compelled to fill their registration forms or download examination forms in the nearby towns where the internet cafe owners resort to daylight robbery. This may not seem a problem for many of us but it surely is for the ones who live from hand to mouth. The student community in Kashmir which mostly comprises of youth are just cherished in front of cameras by some while as some do it when the youth come out into the streets. On other occasions when students raise their genuine demands they are left to fend for themselves.
Through this piece of writing I am not intending to invoke any sympathy for the student community but I am just suggesting an idea to the concerned authorities who can consider the same in the interest of students.
(The author regularly contributes for the edit page of “Kashmir Horizon”. His views are personal)
