Pahalgam, Sep 11: The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Army’s Northern Command, Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma on Saturday said peace and stability across the country, especially in sensitive areas like Jammu and Kashmir cements the idea and vision of nation building.

Addressing a function to mark the 10th anniversary partnership between Army Goodwill School (AGS), Pahalgam and the Bharti Airtel Foundation today, Lt Gen reiterated that Army is committed towards realising a “Viksit (Developed and Progressive) Bharat”.
He said maintaining peace and stability across the country, especially in sensitive areas like Jammu and Kashmir, cements the idea and vision of nation building.
Praising students of AGS Pahalgam for their achievements, Lt Gen Sharma said this would not have been possible without unconditional guidance and support of their parents, teachers and mentors.
“I would like to complement the principal, teachers and students of APS Pahalgam. When the alumni were speaking of their own experiences, I was reminded about my own childhood and school, Saraswati Shishu Mandir. I also come from a small place, although not in J&K, but in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
The army commander said education for students was related to nurturing a dream, related to commitment and resilience. “Those lessons helped us and you see where I am today. I am grateful to my mother, my school teachers, and all those who supported us in that small, little place. That gave us the energy in the stomach to excel”.
“Irrespective of the place and environment, a time will come when you will all work hard and hold yourselves to a certain standard. The stories of our alumni are more than just a source of motivation. If I had been a child in this kind of school environment, I would have strived much harder and been more motivated to achieve much more,” Lt Gen Sharma said.
The Northern Army commander said the ten-year partnership between AGS Pahalgam and the Bharti Airtel Foundation in the field of education was indicative of sincerity and commitment of the armed forces towards the people of J&K.
“It is a proud moment for the Northern Command and re-establishes and re-energises our commitment to stay connected to the people and the larger community. It gives us courage to provide more opportunities to youth and students to excel and guide them along the right path to help them to aspire and achieve big. Providing quality education is the key. This helps in nation-building,” he asserted.
“As we march towards a Viksit Bharat, the Northern Command will continue to remain committed to nation-building while ensuring peace and tranquility,” Lt Gen Sharma said. “Your peace is our purpose, your aspirations is our mission and your success is our pride.”
During his address, he informed the gathering about the achievements of AGS Wuzur and AGS Uri, which secured third and sixth position respectively at the Young Scientist India 2025.
He also said that AGS Wuzurwas ranked among the country’s top ten schools in the innovation category.
Last year, in October, AGS Pahalgam highlighted its creativity by hosting “The Innofest and Educational Rockstar Achiever’s event in collaboration with the Bharti Airtel Foundation.
The focus on innovation in education provided a unique platform for Army Goodwill School students across Jammu and Kashmir to display their talents, creative ideas and academic excellence.
Ninety-three innovative projects were received from 21 Army Goodwill Schools in all, of which 35 were deemed exceptional and shortlisted for the exhibition.
The response from students, mentors and other faculty was overwhelming, as the ideas and projects presented addressed real-world challenges in fields like technology, environment sustainability, health and education.
The Bharti Airtel Foundation and the Army's Northern Command have a multi-year partnership to upgrade education quality, digital infrastructure and student opportunities across 43 Army Goodwill Schools (AGS) in Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Through its Quality Support Program, the Bharti Airtel Foundation has been working with the army’s Northern Command to strengthen teacher capacity, improve classroom practice and expand student opportunities for the last nine years, with the aim of helping to build a stronger and more resilient AGS ecosystem.
These initiatives are aligned with the National Education Policy -2020 (NEP-2020) and delivered through structured in-person teacher training sessions complemented by continuous digital access to TheTeacherApp. The customised program focuses on strengthening inclusive foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) classroom practice, building teacher confidence in using digital and AI-enabled learning tools, and nurturing educators to guide school-based professional learning.
This initiative builds on the foundation’s commitment to expanding access to high-quality capacity-building opportunities for educators in remote and inaccessible parts of the country.