The directorate of school education in Kashmir on Tuesday withdrew its ban on 102 private coaching centres, Greater Kashmir reported. On April 22, Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Education Syed Muhammad Altaf Bukhari ordered all private tuition centres in the Valley to remain shut for 90 days.
The ban was imposed after protests were organised by students over the murder and alleged rape of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua district. A day before imposing the ban, Bukhari had said the government was identifying “distractions” to “normal schooling” and tuition centres made the cut. He had also warned those disrupting academic activity, saying students were children and should be treated as such until they “limit themselves to the premises of school, college or university”.
In Kashmir, the academic year begins in November. From December till March, schools and colleges remain shut for the winter and most students enroll in private tuition centres to complete their work.
The centres will be allowed to operate from May 2 with certain restrictions. The directorate has ordered the institutes to not hold sessions in the morning. “The registered private tuition centres shall conduct the classes only in the second half after one hour of the closure of the schools as per the notified school timing,” the daily quoted the official order.
The directorate has also limited students to 75 per classroom and ordered that the institute be listed on a school board portal and regularly conduct parent-teacher meetings. The order directs them to also provide 15-minute moral education sessions before a class.
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