Over 80pc lecturer posts for Kashmiri language vacant in IIOJK schools
Srinagar: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, more than 80 percent of lecturer posts sanctioned for teaching Kashmiri in schools across the Valley, are lying vacant, the authorities informed the Kashmir Assembly.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a written reply to a question by Srinagar legislator Mubarak Gul, the School Education Department disclosed that against a sanctioned strength of 27 Kashmiri lecturers in higher secondary schools of the Kashmir division, only five are currently in position. The remaining 22 posts are vacant across nine districts.
The data shows that all five sanctioned posts in Kupwara district are vacant. In Baramulla, Ganderbal and Pulwama, two posts each remain unfilled. Of the four sanctioned posts each in Anantnag and Budgam, three are vacant. Bandipora and Kulgam have two vacancies each, while one post is vacant in Shopian.
The authorities further stated that Kashmiri is presently not taught as a subject in schools of the Jammu division.
Kashmiri was introduced as a subject in primary and middle government schools in the early 2000s and later extended to Classes 9 and 10 from the 2018–19 academic session. It was already being taught at the higher secondary level at that time. In recent years, the subject has also been introduced in several private schools in the Valley.
The sanctioned strength of Kashmiri lecturers, which stood at 11 prior to 2009, was increased to 27 in 2019. However, recruitment has not kept pace with the expansion.
