Calls to Abolish Class 11 Board Exam, Focus on Quality Education in J&K
SRINAGAR: Union Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Sanjay Kumar, along with senior officials, conducted a comprehensive review of the School Education Department in Jammu and Kashmir today.
Chairing a high-level meeting at SKICC Srinagar, Sanjay Kumar emphasized the need to enhance the quality of education across all government schools in the Union Territory. He called for sustainable infrastructure upgrades to support learning and encouraged measures to significantly boost student enrollment in government schools.
The Union Secretary stressed the importance of providing quality education through vocational and skill-based programs and urged the department to ensure no student drops out before completing Class 12. He also highlighted the need for robust pre-primary education and large-scale enrollment in kindergarten classes.
Importantly, Kumar directed the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) to reconsider the Class 11 board examination, suggesting its removal. He also expressed concern over lower enrollment in government schools compared to private institutions and called for initiatives to make government schools the preferred centers for learning and career development.
The meeting was attended by key officials including Secretary School Education J&K Ram Niwas Sharma, Director General School Education Kashmir GN Itoo, Director School Education Jammu Dr. Naseem Choudhary, and senior officers from Samagra Shiksha, JKBOSE, SCERT, and the Directorates of School Education in Kashmir and Jammu.
Deliberations covered a wide range of topics, including the establishment of a Regional CBSE Office in J&K, adoption of NEP-2020 curriculum, teacher capacity building on NCF and CBSE curricula, assessment and board examination practices, and school education indicators in the region. Progress under schemes such as Samagra Shiksha, PM SHRI, PARAKH, and digital initiatives including DIKSHA, VSK, and PM e-VIDYA was also reviewed.
Union Secretary Sanjay Kumar further underscored the importance of coordinated efforts by all stakeholders to ensure the holistic development of children and strengthen human resource management while addressing infrastructural gaps.
Senior officers accompanying him included Anand Rao Patil, A Srija, Pankaj KP Shreyaskar, Harikumar Janakiraman, Sreekala P. Venugopal, Ram Singh, and Abdul Momin. Also present were Dinesh Prasad Saklani (NCERT), Rahul Singh (CBSE), Pankaj Arora (NCTE), Akhilesh Mishra (NIOS), and Indrani Bhaduri (CEO & Head, PARAKH).
