Education Deptt on verge of collapse: Minister
Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Oct 28: Minister for Education Sakina Itoo amid chaos in the Legislative Assembly today informed that the Department is on the verge of collapse as Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) legislators accused the Government of discriminating against the Jammu region in transfers and promotions within the Education Department.
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The uproar broke out after BJP MLA from Doda West, Shakti Raj Parihar, alleged that the department had favoured Kashmir while sidelining Jammu in key administrative decisions. During the Zero Hour, Parihar claimed that while departmental promotions and transfers were being carried out regularly in the Kashmir region, teachers and lecturers in Jammu have been ignored.
“There has been no DPC, no transfer of masters and lecturers in Jammu. The House is being misled,” he said, adding that the Education Department must expedite the Annual Transfer Drive (ATD) and immediately convene Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) for teachers awaiting elevation.
Parihar’s remarks triggered loud protests from the opposition benches, with MLAs rising from their seats and shouting slogans of “stop discrimination with Jammu.” He was joined by Advocate Vijay Sharma (Hiranagar) and Pawan Gupta (Udhampur West), who also pressed the Government to ensure timely transfers for teachers posted in far-flung areas of the Jammu division. The ruckus continued for several minutes before the Speaker intervened to restore order.
Responding to the allegations, Education Minister Sakina Itoo strongly denied any regional bias. “The BJP is habitual of crying discrimination. There is no such thing,” she said. Itoo also informed the House that the DPC process was already underway and transfers had been initiated from Poonch and Rajouri but were temporarily halted due to complaints.
Itoo said the department had suffered from a prolonged recruitment freeze. “Today, if we are suffering, tell me why there was a blanket ban,” she asked the BJP members. She added, “We have reached a stage where our Education Department is on the verge of being defunct, and there are thousands of vacancies. But I am thankful to the Chief Minister, who has agreed to defreeze 50 percent of the posts.”
She added that 860 appointments had been made in Jammu compared to 350 in Kashmir, rejecting the BJP’s charge of regional bias. “For 11 years, there was a blanket ban, and 1,500 posts were frozen. The Chief Minister’s decision to de-freeze posts has brought new hope,” she said.
As the debate continued, NC MLA Nazir Ahmad Gurezi drew attention to staff shortages in his constituency, saying that “there is no lecturer in Gurez.” Several other MLAs raised local issues of public importance, urging the government to act swiftly.
Later in the day, the Assembly rejected a Private Member’s Bill introduced by MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia, which sought to make vocational and skilled education compulsory across Jammu and Kashmir. The proposed legislation, titled A Bill to Provide for Compulsory Vocational and Skilled Education in Jammu and Kashmir (Private Members’ Bill No. 14 of 2025), aimed to integrate skill-based training into the formal education system to boost employability and align youth skills with evolving job market demands.
Introducing the bill, Mankotia said the state must reform its technical education sector by modernizing courses at the higher secondary level. “Many ITI courses are outdated. Instead of running large institutions, we should introduce modern, optional vocational courses to meet industry needs,” he argued.
Responding to the proposal, the Deputy Chief Minister acknowledged that the bill was “a genuine initiative” but insisted the government was already working on similar reforms. “Many ITI courses have lost relevance, and a committee has been set up to review the syllabus. Our focus is to expand skill-based learning from the primary level upward,” he said, adding that the government would continue strengthening ITIs rather than scaling them down.
Following a brief discussion, the Speaker called for a voice vote. While BJP members supported the bill, the National Conference opposed it. With a majority voting against the motion for leave to introduce, the bill was defeated.
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