Infrastructural deficiencies, teacher shortages plague Srinagar’s govt schools

Srinagar: Despite several reforms aimed at improving education in the region, government schools in Srinagar continue to face significant challenges, including poor infrastructure and an imbalanced pupil-teacher ratio (PTR), which undermine the quality of education for thousands of students.
Many schools in the city still operate in dilapidated buildings, lacking basic facilities such as lab equipment, clean drinking water, and functional toilets. Students and parents have raised concerns over the deteriorating conditions. Classrooms are described as having cracked walls, broken benches, and insufficient heating during the harsh winter months.
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Itoo, Director of School Education Kashmir, emphasized that improving education is a priority. “We aim to upgrade school infrastructure, provide teacher training to enhance skills, and update the curriculum to meet modern standards,” he said.
Itoo acknowledged that infrastructure remains a major challenge, particularly in flood-prone areas. “We are setting up resilient school buildings to withstand natural disasters. Science labs, libraries, and classrooms are being completed to create an improved learning environment,” he added.
“Many children in disadvantaged areas lack access to proper schools and resources. We are focused on constructing classrooms, providing digital learning tools, and ensuring the availability of teachers. Additionally, we are offering scholarships, uniforms, and free textbooks to ease the financial strain on families,” he explained.
Nida, a student, shared, “Many of the benches in our classroom are broken, and we have to adjust in uncomfortable positions just to be able to write. It makes learning more difficult than it should be.” Another student, Zainab, expressed frustration over the poor state of sanitation, saying, “The toilets in our school are always in bad condition. Often, there’s no water, and the ones that work are very unhygienic.”
Winter exacerbates these issues, with many classrooms lacking adequate heating facilities. Junaid, a student, highlighted the challenges faced during colder months, stating, “During the winter, the classrooms are freezing cold, and we don’t have heaters to keep warm. The cold makes it hard to concentrate, and sometimes we end up shivering through lessons.”
The lack of proper sports facilities further limits the overall development of students. “We don’t have a proper playground, just a small open space with gravel and uneven ground,” said Muneeb, another student.
Parents are equally concerned about the state of government schools. “We send our children to school hoping they will get a good education, but when they come home talking about broken infrastructure, it is heartbreaking,” said Tariq Ahmad, a father of two. Shabnam, a mother, added, “My daughter often comes back home complaining about how cold it was in her classroom. She says she can’t focus on her studies because of the cold. How can we expect our children to excel in such conditions?”
In addition to inadequate infrastructure, the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) remains unbalanced in many government schools. Some classrooms are overcrowded, while others remain underutilized.
Aiman, a student from another school, said, “There are so many students in my class that we often have to share chairs and desks.” Shahnawaz, another student, pointed out the disparity in teacher allocation, noting, “Some classes have fewer students but still have the same number of teachers as ours.”
Alongside these challenges, government schools in Jammu and Kashmir have seen a significant decline in enrollment. Nearly 4,400 government-run schools have been closed due to “zero or extremely low” enrollment. Official records reveal that the number of government schools has decreased from 23,117 to 18,723, with schools merging or being removed from the UDISE records. The primary school category has been the hardest hit, with the number of public schools in the region falling by nearly 30%.
Previously, there were 12,977 functioning government primary schools. After several mergers, only 8,966 remain operational. As a result, the total number of government and private schools in Jammu and Kashmir has decreased from 28,805 to 24,279.
Enrollment data from the 2023–24 and 2022–23 academic years shows a decrease of 61,451 students in government schools. This decline aligns with the findings of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022, which recorded a drop in the enrollment of children aged 6–14 years in government schools, from 58.3% in 2018 to 55.5% in 2022.
The ASER report also highlighted serious infrastructural shortcomings, including the lack of toilets for girls in over half of the schools and water shortages in nearly 30% of them. These issues significantly hinder students’ access to essential facilities and undermine their right to a safe, conducive learning environment.
Earlier in November, Minister of Social Welfare, Education, Health, and Medical Education, Sakeena Itoo, pointed out that some government schools in Jammu and Kashmir are facing a shortage of teaching staff, while others have an excess.
To address the disproportionate pupil-teacher ratio, the minister had called for detailed reports on student enrollment and teaching staff in government schools across the region.
The Director of School Education for both Jammu and Kashmir regions was instructed to provide a school-wise (Primary, Middle, High, and Higher Secondary) and district-wise breakdown detailing the number of students enrolled and the teaching staff posted in each school.
As the government continues to promise reforms, the reality on the ground underscores the urgent need for tangible improvements in both school infrastructure and teacher availability. Without addressing these fundamental issues, the quality of education in Srinagar’s government schools will continue to suffer.