Honourable Chief Minister,

I write with a simple concern that many of us in Jammu and Kashmir talk about in private. Our education system is slipping into a cycle of ceremonies while students struggle with real learning and teachers feel increasingly sidelined.

Your warning about the mushrooming of colleges struck a chord. The rush to approve 50 degree colleges in 2019 happened without planning or accountability. Many of those institutions still run with low enrollment, weak facilities, and almost no permanent staff. Students and teachers carry the burden of decisions made in haste.

The transfer system tells a similar story. The ATD Portal, introduced in 2023 as a step toward transparency, has been pushed aside for manual transfers. Teachers feel tossed around from one posting to another without fairness or clarity. This goes against the spirit of a digital India.

Meanwhile, the world is changing fast. AI can now write, analyze, and organise information in seconds. This means teachers have to guide students to think clearly, ask better questions, and solve real problems. Creativity and critical thinking count more than memorising facts. Teachers can take on this role only when they get the support they need.

Many colleges do not even have basic staff like sweepers or chowkidars. Others rely heavily on Local Fund Employees whose wages swallow money meant for student services. Smaller colleges suffer while larger ones carry an imbalance. The system feels stretched in all directions.

Teachers need steady training in new technology, help in pursuing higher studies, and a clear path for promotions. A teacher who never gets a chance to learn cannot prepare students for the future. Career stagnation is pushing many bright educators into frustration.

Another challenge sits right in front of us. The administration has become obsessed with events. Seminars, parades, and cultural shows happen one after another. These activities have value although they have overtaken the real work of teaching. A stage gets ready faster than a laboratory. This says everything about our priorities.

This drift feeds our unemployment crisis. Thousands of students graduate with outdated degrees that the modern job market does not value. They walk into the world with paper boats in a rising storm. Reforming old courses and building skill-based learning is an urgent need, not an optional exercise.

Honourable Chief Minister, you have the authority to shift this course. The staged receptions during official visits hide the daily struggles inside classrooms. The truth lives in the eyes of a teacher waiting for a fair posting and a student unsure of what lies beyond graduation.

Jammu and Kashmir can rebuild its education system with focus and courage. The future is moving fast. Our classrooms must move with it.

Sincerely,

Aufaq Zargar

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