Experiences show that examinations under New Education Policy (NEP) are conducted in March and results come out in the first quarter of Jammu but coaching centres start coaching students for new classes almost six months before they are formally declared eligible for admissions into new class.
While the change in the examination session from November to March under Central Government’s New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 pushes students into an examination preparation mode almost a month before the announcement of winter vacations in Kashmir Valley, the coaching centres unfortunately have set a new precedence of admitting students into new classes to which they are promoted only after the announcement of the results of their annual examinations scheduled to be conducted only in the month of March by J&K BOSE (J&K Board Of School Education) and CBSE (Central Board Of School Education)in Kashmir like other parts of the country. Experiences show that examinations under New Education Policy (NEP) are conducted in March and results come out in the first quarter of June only but coaching centres start coaching students for new classes almost six months before they are formally declared eligible for admissions into new classes. While the said bad precedence started by coaching centres in Kashmir since last year pushes the students into a state of confusion when they are asked to prepare for the annual examinations of one class and learn the basics of upper class during winter at the coaching centres, neither the parents nor the managements of coaching centres bother to even ponder over the bad practices of coaching centres which pushes students into a state of confusion ahead of the annual examinations. Though the onus of supervising the admission practices and procedures at the coaching centres lies on both the Directorate of School Education Kashmir and as well as the Deputy Commissioners in the districts across Kashmir but unfortunately neither Director School Education Kashmir nor Deputy Commissioners of Valley districts seek a report about the practices and procedures adopted for admissions ahead of the annual board examinations by coaching centres from the Chief Education Officers of the valley districts.
“Since both the involvement of mental anxieties of the students with the preparation for the annual examinations during chilly season of winter in Kashmir and as well as the mounting stress of the fee hikes of the coaching centres on the parents demand and deserve immediate attention and intervention of the Jammu & Kashmir Government, administrative wisdom demands immediate intervention of the Principal Secretary Education for curbing the bad practices and procedures of admissions and as well as free structure in coaching centres across Kashmir. The intervention of Chief Secretary on this count would hopefully bring long lasting respite to both the students and as well as their parents.”
Interestingly not only bad practices and procedures in admissions but coaching centres are also hiking the coaching fee without any consent or approval from either the Director School Education Kashmir or the Deputy Commissioner in the districts. While the J&K Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee a Statutory body of Jammu & Kashmir Government headed by a retired High Court Judge has been established almost more than a decade ago to regulate the free structure at private schools, the same statutory body has not been authorised to regulate the fee structure of coaching centres for last more than a decade now. Since both the involvement of mental anxieties of the students with the preparation for the annual examinations during chilly season of winter in Kashmir and as well as the mounting stress of the fee hikes of the coaching centres on the parents demand and deserve immediate attention and intervention of the Jammu & Kashmir Government, administrative wisdom demands immediate attention and intervention of the Principal Secretary School Education for curbing the bad practices and procedures of admissions and as well as free structure at coaching centres across Kashmir. The intervention of Chief Secretary on this count would hopefully bring long lasting respite to both the students and as well as their parents.
