J&K Cannot Afford Hollow Schooling

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• 30 Apr 2026

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Education must move beyond marks to shape character, reason, civic responsibility and social healing

Jammu and Kashmir today faces many challenges, but few are as consequential and as insufficiently confronted as the steady erosion of the moral and intellectual purpose of schooling. Public discussion on education in the Union Territory too often remains confined to board results, infrastructure gaps, vacancies, transfers and administrative targets. These are important concerns, but they do not touch the heart of the crisis. The more urgent question is this: what kind of human beings are our schools shaping? If our classrooms are unable to cultivate honesty, discipline, empathy, reason and a sense of collective responsibility, then no reform in syllabus, no investment in technology and no official claim of progress can secure the future of our society. In such a setting, schools cannot function merely as centres of instruction. They must serve as spaces of stability, reflection and renewal. The National Education Policy 2020, whatever its limitations in implementation, rightly underscores the need for holistic education—one that combines foundational learning with ethics, constitutional values, emotional development and critical thinking. That vision deserves serious attention in Jammu and Kashmir. There is, to be sure, some measurable progress. Government initiatives aligned with the new education framework have expanded infrastructure, introduced ICT facilities and sought to reduce dropout rates. Official figures indicate improvement in retention at the primary and upper-primary stages, while efforts have also been made to readmit out-of-school children through bridge mechanisms. These developments are welcome. But they should not tempt us into complacency. Access alone is not education. Attendance alone is not learning. And learning itself is incomplete if it does not help young people distinguish right from wrong, truth from propaganda, and freedom from indiscipline. Moral education does not mean didactic preaching or empty ritualism. It means creating a school culture in which values are lived rather than announced—where punctuality matters, respect is reciprocal, truthfulness is encouraged, diversity is honoured, and public conduct is guided by restraint and responsibility. Children learn far more from institutional culture than from textbook slogans. Equally, the intellectual mission of schooling must be reclaimed. Far too many students are still being trained to memorise, reproduce and forget. This weakens both their confidence and their capacity to participate meaningfully in society. Teachers will remain central to this transformation. Yet they cannot be expected to carry this burden without support. Teacher training in Jammu and Kashmir must move beyond procedural compliance and include mentoring, child psychology, ethical instruction and critical pedagogy. A teacher is not merely a syllabus-completing functionary. In our circumstances, the teacher is also a guide, counsellor and moral presence. Parents and society, too, must introspect. Education has increasingly been reduced to a scramble for marks, jobs and migration. While economic aspirations are understandable, they cannot be allowed to hollow out the larger purpose of learning. A society that prizes credentials but neglects character risks producing success without wisdom. The time has come to restore seriousness to the idea of schooling in Jammu and Kashmir. Libraries must be revived, reading habits encouraged, assemblies made meaningful, and debate, arts and community engagement integrated into school life. Local histories, languages and lived realities must also find dignified space in the classroom, so that education remains rooted even as it prepares students for the wider world. If Jammu and Kashmir is to build a more stable, humane and enlightened future, the rebuilding of the moral and intellectual foundations of schooling cannot remain a peripheral concern. It must become an educational priority—and a societal commitment.