The schools in the valley are closed for winter vacations which usually begins in the month of December and stretches till the month of March .While the students across valley have a lot of spare time to spend in whatever way they want to, education experts and teachers are of the opinion that students must work on their academic weaknesses apart from clearing basic ideas regarding their subject.
The experts say that kids should spend their winter vacations in a manner that is quite productive in enhancing several skills which may include, communication skills, writing, reading etc.
While talking to Rising Kashmir, Sheikh Inayat, counsellor and founder of a career counselling school in Kashmir, Move Beyond, said that the winter vacation is a time when the exam stress and anxieties are at a low and the students must take advantage of it to the fullest to learn to make their foundation strong.
“The students must pay extra attention to fundamentals of their subjects and develop some key skills like English Communication, Basic Internet Skills along with exploring open-source resources. They can also explore doing free online courses from international institutions in their area of interest.” Sheikh Inayat said.
He said that in addition to it, students should read some self- development books and enlighten themselves about the importance of having the right attitude that can help them in stress management and enhance their confidence and optimism.
“The students must care about the conceptual clarity with respect to their subjects as they care about their marks and also realize the significance of being skilled,” he added.
Iram Khan, a teacher working in a government school said that quite often she has often witnessed that in primary school students usually have poor handwriting and spelling skills.
She said, “The early years are essential for every student and some of the kids have either bad handwriting or poor spelling skills which is normal unless they don’t work on it. The vacation time can be beneficial for the students to work on their academic weaknesses and improve themselves. The time should be utilized judiciously for personal growth and development.”
Iram advised students to chalk out a plan and work on the weaknesses every single day to progress in studies.
Asma, a teacher who teaches undergraduate students in Women college MA Road said that for undergraduate students, it’s important to do internships and short-term courses. “To satisfy the demand of industries, it’s important for students to do internships and get an insight into the actual working of an office. The courses about HTML, internet, web designing etc. should be adopted to develop the skills that are in the industry’s demand,” she said.
She further said that the introduction of mobile phones has opened the door for a lot of opportunities for students. “There are many free of cost courses available on YouTube. All one needs is a smartphone and a will to learn,” she added.
