Minister for Education, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, on Tuesday underlined the significance of a conducive and tranquil atmosphere for imparting quality education in Schools.Bukhari was addressing a review meeting convened to take stock of school education sector of Shopian and Pulwama districts.The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Forest, Ecology and Environment, Animal & Sheep Husbandry, Cooperative and Fisheries, Zahoor Ahmed Mir, Legislators Mohammad Khalil Band, Mushtaq Ahmed Shah, Aijaz Ahmed Mir, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, and Zafar Manhas.Referring to the recent incidents of student protests, Bukhari appealed people to come forward to make schools and colleges as learning centers for not just students and teachers but also for the whole community.He said disturbances in and around academic institutions is detrimental for the future prospectus of children of Kashmir. He appealed parents to understand their responsibilities in order to safeguard career of their wards.
“Our society in general should focus on how to bring our children back on track and focus on their enlightenment,” Bukhari remarked, while highlighting the role of parents in chiseling the personality of children. He said that education should not be perceived as a means for seeking employment only but the focus must be on personality development of the children.“Knowledge empowers and emancipates a child in real sense. Teachers and the parents must understand their responsibilities and try to fulfill them for a better tomorrow,” he stressed.“Our Valley has been an abode of knowledge and academic excellence but some unfortunate incidents have portrayed this land in an entirely distasteful dimension,” the Education Minister remarked, while urging legislators, teachers, parents and students to come together to overcome this challenge.
He requested the legislators to spare three days in a month for education and provide suggestions for improving education system in the state for better future of the students.The legislators put forward the issues related to school education of their respective constituencies. The issues included shortage of teachers, lack of toilet facility, shortage of accommodation in schools, addition of subjects and other related issues.While giving a patient hearing, the Minister promised to look into the different issues and solve them at an earliest. He asked legislators to shoulder responsibility of their constituencies for the betterment of education sector in their respective areas of jurisdiction.Among others, Secretary Education, DC Shopian, DC Pulwama, Directors of Education, SSA, RMSA, Chief Engineer PWD and other concerned officials attended the meeting.