Why Kashmiri Students Are Walking Away From Universities

By Amaar Mir

Fewer students are choosing higher education in Kashmir today. College classrooms that once brimmed with ambition are half-empty, and entire departments report falling enrollment.

The shift is striking because it is not caused by a lack of talent. It is rooted in a growing distrust of what universities promise, and what they actually deliver.

Kashmiri students have started asking a hard question: why spend years pursuing a degree that might end in disappointment?

They see their seniors, brilliant and disciplined, clearing national-level examinations like NET-JRF, SET, and GATE, only to remain unemployed.

They see PhD scholars applying for clerical jobs, and postdoctoral researchers forced into low-paying work outside their fields.

For them, higher education no longer looks like a shot to stability. It looks like a trap.

The story of Kashmir education crisis cannot be told without mentioning unemployment. According to government figures, Jammu and Kashmir has one of the highest unemployment rates in India, often above 15%, with educated youth making up the largest share.

This failure cuts deep in a society where families have long seen academic success as the clearest path to respect and security.

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