Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 6: J&K Private Schools United Front (JKPSUF) has demanded that Government should devise rules and regulations based on scientific principles for deciding dates and duration of winter vacations.
“There is no logic in dates of vacation except the benefits to some officers, whose wives and other relatives want to cherish the heat of Jammu,” said JKPSUF general secretary G N Var. “As soon as the Durbar Move migrates to Jammu, a vested lobby gets to work to get winter vacations announced quickly,” he added.
The Front said that during last so many years, a slight snowfall triggered winter vacations. “But after some days the weather became sunny again and thus we lost many academic days,” said Var.
“Sometimes even our syllabus remains incomplete, so it is better Government forms proper rules and regulations for announcing such vacations,” he added.
The Front demanded that the Government should constitute an expert committee comprising of officials of Education department, private schools, weather department and a student parent body. “This committee should be empowered to decide the winter vacations based on scientific and logistic principles and also keeping in mind education requirements,” said Var. “It should not be the decision made purely for the benefit of wives, daughters-in-law and other relative of babus.”
The global warming has changed weather pattern of Kashmir and harsh winter of old days is a distant memory. “The good thing is that the Meteorological Department has month long weather forecast in hand, so why not utilize that,” said Var. “We can see which are the harshest days and accordingly decide holidays.”
The association said that extended winter classes will also help build winter compliant infrastructure at schools.