Govt to deliver free textbooks by Jan-end: Edu Minister Sakina

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister, Sakina Thursday said that the students enrolled in government-run-schools will receive free textbooks by January-end.
Besides, Itoo further clarified that there will be no syllabi curtailment for the students appearing in upcoming board exams.
The minister during a media interaction said, “All textbooks will be made available by January end. It took some time to make free textbooks available for the students.”
On asking about the curtailment of syllabi in upcoming board exams, Itoo said, “There will be no relaxation in syllabi for the board exams because the session has been changed only upto 9th standard.”
“The date-sheets have been already issued and we have taken students on board also, they have informed us that they are already preparing for the exams,” she said.
About the selling of textbooks by private schools within the institute, the education minister said that the government has constituted a district and zonal level committee. “They have been asked to monitor the violation so that appropriate action is taken against those private schools.”
On the occasion she further said that the School Education Department will allow or disallow private coaching during the winter vacations in accordance with the norms set by the government.
On the occasion Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary said, “The government will look into the issue of dysfunctional technical colleges of Jammu and Kashmir. We will streamline the issue soon.”
It has been already reported that even after two weeks of winter vacation, the students enrolled in government-run-schools were yet to receive free textbooks from the authorities—thus raising a question on the functioning of JKBOSE.
The delay in delivering the textbooks has left thousands of students at the receiving end as the School Education Department has failed to distribute the course books on time.
In the last week of December-2024, the CEOs of Kashmir region in a meeting with DSEK informed that they have submitted actual requirements of books as per the enrollment for the session 2024-25 to JKBOSE. “However, the receipt of such books is awaited.”
Following the culmination of the previous academic session, the minister had assured that the students would receive free textbooks immediately after the culmination of annual exams. The minister had ordered and instructed the JKBOSE to ensure that the board will deliver free textbooks on time