Urgent request to reinstate October academic session and address challenges of March examination cycle from this year
Respected Sirs and Madam,
On behalf of the Coaching Centres Association of Kashmir and the broader student community, I write to express our concerns regarding the current academic calendar, particularly the shift to the March examination session. This system, implemented a few years ago, has disrupted the well-established academic cycle of Kashmir and has had a profoundly negative impact on students across the region. We believe it is imperative to revert to the October session from this year only and address the ongoing challenges posed by the March session, which is ill-suited to the unique climatic and geographical conditions of the valley.
The challenges of the March session
Under the March session, students are required to sit for their examinations in the months of March and April. While this may seem like a minor adjustment on the surface, it has had far-reaching consequences. The crux of the issue lies in the significant gap between the conclusion of academic activities and the start of the examination process. In Kashmir, the months of November, December, January, and February – and sometimes even March – are characterised by harsh winter conditions that render the learning and teaching process extremely difficult, if not impossible. Snowfall, freezing temperatures, and infrastructural disruptions make it impractical for both teachers and students to carry out regular academic activities during this time.
In the previous October session, students effectively utilised these winter months as a vacation period. During this time, students would stay at home, engage in self-study, and begin preparing for their new classes. Once the harsh winter passed, they would return to school in March, ready to begin their new academic year and benefit from a productive cycle lasting from mid-February to mid-November, this gave students a solid nine months of uninterrupted learning before the cycle repeated itself.
However, the March session has truncated this productive cycle. Due to the examination process being held in March and April, followed by result declarations in May and July for the students hailing from far-flung areas which are called as hard zone students the academic year has effectively shrunk to around five to six months only. This loss of three to four months is detrimental to both students and educators, as it compresses the syllabus into a shorter period, placing immense pressure on everyone involved. Furthermore, government-registered vacations during this shortened academic year further reduce the actual number of working days, leading to compromised learning outcomes.
Given the unique circumstances of Kashmir, including its topography, landscape, and climate, it is crucial to reinstate the October academic session. This would ensure that the academic year begins immediately after the winter months, allowing students to fully benefit from nine months of learning, from March to October. By aligning the academic calendar with the natural rhythms of the region, we can maximise productivity and provide students with a more balanced and less stressful academic experience.
Restoring the October session would also bring much-needed stability to the education system. In the current March session, not only are valuable months wasted, but the exam process itself is compromised by the lingering effects of winter. Poor weather conditions in March can lead to delays in examinations and other logistical challenges that further disrupt the academic schedule.
We understand that making such a transition mid-year would be challenging, but the question is why next year if we can synchronise the process of shifting this year only? I propose an innovative solution to ease the shift, by curtailing a portion of the syllabus this year and implementing a multiple-choice question (MCQ) based examination format, the transition could be made smoothly. This would reduce the burden on students and teachers while maintaining academic standards.
The MCQ format offers significant benefits, particularly in terms of efficiency and accuracy. One of its key advantages is the elimination of human intervention in the checking process, as Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) technology automates this task. This reduces the time required for paper checking up to the hilt, allowing for faster result generation. Additionally, the MCQ format ensures a high level of accuracy, minimising errors that may arise in manual grading. Its objectivity, combined with quick processing, makes it an ideal choice for large-scale examinations, ensuring fairness and consistency.MCQ format is already widely used in competitive exams like NEET and JEE, UPSC etc. and its temporary adoption for this year would allow students to complete their exams in a timely and efficient manner, while also alleviating some of the academic pressure caused by the compressed schedule.
The Coaching Centres Association of Kashmir stands ready to collaborate with your administration in any way necessary to ensure that the education system in Jammu and Kashmir is robust, inclusive, and aligned with the needs of the region. We are confident that under your leadership, these pressing issues can be addressed with the urgency and compassion they deserve.
Thank you in anticipation. We look forward to your positive response.
Yours sincerely,
Haamid Mufti
President, Coaching Centres Association, Kashmir