Major sufferers of strike calls given by separatist leaders from 9th of July last till date, has been the segment of school going students, both males and females. They were kept back from attending their schools; movement of buses carrying them to and from were off the road; teachers were not allowed to attend schools, and what is more painful is that more than two dozen school buildings were torched along with their laboratories, libraries and furniture. No separatist leader gave a single call forbidding destruction of school buildings and the aid to the acquisitionof knowledge in these schools. The Government seemed helpless and finally the High Court took suo motu cognizance of this unreasoned vandalism and lawlessness and directed the administration to ensure safety of school buildings. We have never heard of so-called freedom fighters damaging and destroying the national assets and wrecking vengeance on school buildings and its properties. In this surcharged atmosphere, it was apprehended that the students may not be able to appear in their annual examinations to go to the next higher class. Had that happened it would have been a colossus loss to the educational career of hundreds of thousands of students.
However, it goes to the credit of the administration and particularly the Board of School Education (BOSE) who have combined their effort and initiative to come to the rescue of the student community and save them from losing one precious year of their educational career. According to reports from the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK), over 94.7 percent students appeared in annual regular Board examinations for the Class 12th and 99% appeared in Class X exam in Kashmir division amid tight security. The attendance percentage of candidates in the exams was 94.17 percent. Among all 10 districts of Valley, the highest number of candidates appeared in Anantnag (96.1%) in Class 12th examination. Incidentally, Anantnag district has been one of the three main districts of Kashmir valley where there was maximum disturbance during past four months.
This notwithstanding, there have been some stray cases of outsiders trying to disrupt the process of examination at a few centers. At two places in South Kashmir, loud speakers fitted to the mosques shrieked threatening to students daring to go in and take examination. How sad that a place of worship has been used for political purposes. Many centers of examination had to be shifted to safer places and the police intervened to restore normal conditions in which the student community would take examination without intimidation and fear. We appreciate the decisions taken by the Deputy Commissioners concerned in providing much-needed police protection to the young students who were keen to appear in the examination and save one precious year of their career from being wasted against their wishes and affordability. We appreciate the role of the police force in performing their duty with great dedication.We have taken note of the fact that by not giving a call for boycott, the local separatist leadership has, after a long time, tried to show their interest in protecting the educational career of young student community. This community of young kids is the future maker of modern and new Kashmir in which reason and logic will have an upper hand over emotions and anger. Let us pray that the smooth conduct of examination becomes the harbinger of peace and tranquility in disturbed Kashmir in days to come.
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