Minister for School Education, Hajj and Auqaf and Tribal Affairs Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali today said that the Government is planning to bring in a new education policy which will regulate school curriculum, review teaching methods and regulate other related aspects.The Minister expressed these views at a high level meeting, which was attended by Minister for Tourism Tassaduq Mufti, Secretary School Education Farooq Shah, Director of School Education, Joint Director State Institute of Education Kashmir, Principal DIETs and other concerned officers.The Minister said that the policy will entail a proper monitoring system through which the department would not only assess the trainers, but could also review the effectiveness of these trainings among the students.Zulfkar Ali said if the infrastructural work of the State gets delayed nothing gets delayed, but if a student is deprived of quality education, a cardinal sin is being committed. The Minister added that the need of the hour is to think beyond the set horizons, and aim for such a setting where education is not limited to a certain recognized board of the country.Urging everyone to understand their roles, the Minister said it is important that everyone, especially our teaching staff understand their responsibilities and try teach their students through practical methods.
The Minister said a good teacher can make a huge difference in shaping the future of his student. He said therefore, it is important that a meticulous evaluation is done during selection of teachers and master teachers.The Minister also asked the officials to ensure that everyone is made accountable for their actions. He urged the officers to make their subordinates accountable for their actions so that desired results could be achieved.He informed that the Education department has 24,000 Government schools with an enrolment of 14 lakh students who get taught by two lakh teachers.The Minister also directed for constituting of expert committee who will study world’s best curriculum and teaching methodology from around the country.The meeting was informed that the present J&K Board of School Education follows the pattern of NCERT in terms of its curriculum.Expressing his views, Tassaduq Mufti said books should be cumulative in nature. He said instead of having random chapters about English which include something about everything, there should be a gradual shift towards certain topic.The Minister said it is better to face the weakness and focus on strengths so that better results could be achieved. He suggested that there is no need to follow NCERT like a holy book, instead concerned officials should explore other relevant options too.