Srinagar: The recently anointed “International Day of Education” means little to students in Kashmir who face numerous hurdles in their education and an increasingly uncertain future.
Though the Covid-19 pandemic shut down educational institutions all over the world, here in Kashmir the institutions were closed much before, in August 2019 when the government of India abrogated Articles 370 and 35A which gave special status and autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. Curfew was imposed in the entire valley, all means of communication were snapped, and all education institutions shut down indefinitely.
On December 3, 2018, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed January 24 as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development.
Mudasir Ahmad, an engineering student in Srinagar, said, “I feel frustrated whenever I think about my future. I have lost precious time and all my plans for the future are in ruins. We, the students in the valley, have not suffered for the first time; every year and in every situation we suffer. The authorities suspend the internet and impose restrictions on movement every now and then, caring two hoots for how it disrupts our education.”
He added, “Everywhere the students are now learning through the online mode but in the valley the internet is restricted to 2G speed. Our teachers are also facing many problems in delivering lectures online. The authorities are playing with our future.”
Iqra Yousuf, a student at the Government College for Women, said, “I think there are too many issues that plague education here. Even now, when at least there are online classes to attend and tuition centres have resumed functioning, as a Kashmiri I feel very disadvantaged before students of other states who don’t have to go through an entire year’s shutdown. We literally missed the whole of 2019 because of the shutdown and we weren’t even able to attend online classes. I won’t mention 2020 because it’s been the same for everyone across the globe, but we Kashmiris had to lose most of the year even in 2016.”
The slow 2G internet speed is a big issue as students are not able to download study material or use educational apps that require a good internet speed. Many students say that due to the low-speed internet they cannot even properly interact with their teachers on video during online classes.
Shahnawaz Ahmad, a teacher by profession, said that the students of Kashmir have been suffering for decades. “Every year the educational institutions are shut down for 3-4 months. We have as examples the 2008 unrest, the 2014 devastating floods, the 2016 uprising, the 2019 shutdown, and now the Covid pandemic. Students here are under great mental stress. In this day and age our students have only 2G internet service, which is totally worthless. Even as a teacher I face many problems, like sometimes I need to download some documents for students but due to the low speed I cannot do it. Sometimes the students are not audible to me and sometimes I am not audible to students. The future of the students is dark. The authorities must take some steps to help,” Ahmad said.
Several international organisations like Amnesty International have called on the Indian government to restore 4G Internet in J&K as education is a fundamental right and the restricted internet speeds are acting as a big impediment to the right of education.
GN Var, president of the Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir (PSAJK), said, “Students in the valley are suffering from depression, anxiety and a great deal of stress due to the sustained loss of education since August 2019. We had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in the past for the restoration of high-speed internet but nothing happened. It seems the authorities are playing with the careers of students in the valley. Now for a second time we have gone to the Supreme Court so that our students can at least pursue their education through online mode in this tough time.”
This reporter tried to reach Director of School Education Kashmir, Mohammad Younis Malik, for his comments, but the calls were unanswered.

Naveed Ahmad Najar