Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today called for taking the ALOHA mental arithmetic programme to government schools in Jammu and Kashmir, stressing the need to provide children across the education system a level playing field and equip them with skills to compete nationally and internationally.

Addressing the award ceremony of the ALOHA National Level Competition-2026 Kashmir at SKICC here, the Chief Minister said education and health remain the two foremost responsibilities of the government and stressed that sustained investment in these sectors is essential for the overall development of the region.

“Education is the foundation of everything. Without education, what can we achieve? Education and health: without these two things, there is no point in getting anything else,” the Chief Minister said.

Omar Abdullah said the government is focusing on improving the education system so that children are better prepared to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world. He emphasised the need to incorporate emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence into the curriculum and equip students with the knowledge and skills required for the future.

Highlighting the challenge of student retention, the Chief Minister said Jammu and Kashmir performs well at the primary and middle-school levels in comparison with the national scenario, but the retention rate declines significantly as students progress to higher classes.

The chief minister emphasised that secondary schools need to take concrete steps to bring down school dropout rate , underscoring the need for concerted efforts to ensure that children remain within the education system through the higher secondary level. The Chief Minister also stressed that government and private schools should work together rather than view each other as competing systems. He said children studying in both government and private schools are equally the future of Jammu and Kashmir and called for policies that enable private educational institutions to contribute effectively to the education ecosystem.

Referring to the legislation on private universities this year, Omar Abdullah said the initiative was aimed at creating opportunities within Jammu and Kashmir so that students do not have to leave the region in search of quality private higher education.

The Chief Minister expressed appreciation for the enthusiasm and performance of the participating students at a large gathering at SKICC and the participation of children from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir, other parts of the country and abroad.

He said the participation of students from places such as Kerala, Karnataka and Rajasthan, along with international participants, in the competition in Srinagar was a positive indication of the growing educational and cultural connect with Jammu and Kashmir.

The Chief Minister appreciated the mental arithmetic abilities demonstrated by the young participants.

He said the achievements of the students were a credit to their parents, teachers and ALOHA International, and congratulated all participants, emphasising that participation itself was an achievement.

“You are all winners. Whether you took back a trophy from here or not, just being here and being able to compete is a victory and is a win,” he said.

Omar Abdullah said the government would explore taking the ALOHA programme forward in government schools to give students wider access to such learning opportunities.

“This is something that we need to incorporate into the government school system as well, so that we give our children a level playing field,” he said, adding that efforts would be made to expand the ALOHA family in Jammu and Kashmir.

Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani, Director School Education Kashmir Naseer Ahmed Wani, Founder and President ALOHA Loh Mun Sung, Director International ALOHA Kiran Motwani, MD ALOHA J&K Mubashir Wafai, besides teachers, students and parents, were present on the occasion.