Many private schools have promoted their respective students to next classes after conducting examination in rented accommodations and on the basis of home assignments in Kashmir, where educational institutes continued to remain deserted since August 5, despite authorities urging parents to send their children to schools.
However, students alleged hardship in filling and submitting online applications for pre and post matric scholarships due to gag on broadband and mobile internet services since August 5.
Meanwhile, as youth continued to stay away from educational institutes, Colleges and Universities have asked students to collect study materials, including video tutorials, in Kashmir valley, where shutdown against scrapping of Article 370 and Article 35 A entered 14th week on Monday.
Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) has asked its students to collect study material, including video tutorials, from a rented building in Nowgam, bypass. IUST is currently operating from this building as according to officials of the institute, the situation in not conducive for reopening of the university in Awantipora in south Kashmir district of Pulwama.
“We were told that our examination will be held in December and were also told to collect the study material for the same in the coming days at IUST. Our teachers go to the university regularly, but as there is no public transport available, we have been told to collect the study material so that we can study and appear for the examination,” a student of IUST said.
The Principal Government Degree College Bijbehara in the last week of October said that all the students of BG-3rd, 5th and 6th Semester have been informed to collect the study material pertaining to their concerned subjects from the college for their convenience. “The students of these semesters are asked to contact their respective Head of the Departments for collection of the material at an earliest,” he said.
Similarly some colleges have asked its students to collect study materials from the respective educational institutes.
The government ordered closure of all educational institutions on August 5, when centre scrapped Article 370 and 35 A, besides divided the state into two Union Territories. However, educational institutions reopened in winter capital, Jammu and Ladakh after about two weeks in a phased manner but remained closed in the valley.
After remaining closed for more than a month, government ordered reopening of primary and middle schools first followed by High and Higher Secondary Schools (HSS) and on October 9 colleges in the valley.
However, students continued to stay away and did not attended their classes in private and government institutions as parents were not ready to send their children to schools due to uneasy situation in the valley, including Srinagar.
Many private schools rented rooms in different localities and conducted examination for students, who were asked to come in casual clothes, while others promote students on the basis of home assignments submitted by children. Examination was even conducted over the phones by many private schools for students, who had left the valley.
Meanwhile, despite schools remaining deserted, Class 10th and Class 12th examinations was underway in the valley.
Students said that they were facing hardship in filing online forms for pre and post matric scholarships as the arrangements made by their respective district administrations were not sufficient to cater to the need to all the children.
An official said that 65 computer-with-internet kiosks were set up to ensure facilitation of all students approaching the facilities to register and apply for the scholarships in Srinagar. “Over 7200 students, including from other districts, applied in the scholarships. These include students who made applications for minority scholarships,” he added.