Shifting of affiliation by school create outrage among parents

Parents were taken on board before taking this decision; our aim is to prepare students for national-level competition; Says School Chairman

Aazan Manzoor

Srinagar, Jan 03 (JKNS): The parents of a local private school on Friday opposed the decision of the school management to adopt CBSE curriculum for the students from the upcoming academic session.

The parents expressed their anger over the “abrupt decison” taken by the school to switch their affiliation from JK Board of School Education (JKBOSE) to CBSE without consulting the parents which they said are the main stakeholders in the school.

Amid the complaints, the management of the school said that the school was granted NoC from the competant authorities and the decision to switch affiliation of Board was taken after taking parents on board.

However, a parent Numaan Bhat told news agency JKNS said the the school made such a change without seeking parental consent.

“This decision affects our children’s education, and it seems to serve the school’s financial interests rather than the students,” he said.

The parents urged the Education Minister and the School Education Department (SED) to intervene and prevent such unilateral decision.

“Schools should not be allowed to implement such changes without involving the primary stakeholders—parents,” another parent Ashiq Ahmad said.

The parents demanded that the school should rollback decision. “We need our children to learn education, nothing else, they schools are making decisions for their benefits,” a parent said.

Talking to news agency JKNS, the Chairman of Green Valley School said they obtained the NoC from the state government.

“This decision is built on the trust between the school administration and parents. There is a misconception among some parents that this shift will lead to higher fees or additional activity charges. That is not correct. The fees are regulated by the Fee Fixation Committee, and no changes can be made arbitrarily,” the school chairman said.

Chairman further said that the motive behind the decision was aimed at making students to compete at the national level and excel in competitive exams.

“Earlier, J&K students had the CET, but now that it has been abolished, NEET has become the standard. To ensure our students are prepared, we need to align with a board that supports national-level competition. Sticking solely with JKBOSE in this context would not serve our students well,” he said.

He also noted that many parents are unaware of the key differences between the two boards. “About 90% of parents don’t understand the distinction between CBSE and JKBOSE. They think this transition means the school will stop following state government regulations, which is not true. We will continue adhering to these rules and have instructed our staff to equip students to excel on a national scale. Parents do not need to worry about this process,” he said.

Chairman informed that they initially attempted to shift to CBSE in 2020 but their NoC was rejected as the school was deemed ineligible.

“We addressed the deficiencies highlighted at that time and applied again in 2024.We have been granted the NoC after meeting all requirements,” he said. (JKNS)

Power supply better this year than the previous one: Omar Abdullah

Srinagar, Jan 3, KNT: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday said that the power supply this year is better than the previous year. He said efforts are being made to ensure a stable electricity supply despite ongoing challenges.

When questioned about the electricity supply in the valley, Omar Abdullah stated that the power situation this year is better than in previous years.

“Power cuts are occurring, but efforts are being made to provide electricity according to the schedule. Any issues in the system are being rectified promptly,” he said. [KNT]

Northern Railway announces train timings for Katra-Srinagar route

Jammu, Jan 3: Northern Railway on Friday announced train timings for the Katra-Srinagar route, which is expected to be inaugurated after January 20.

According to the timing schedule, the Vande Bharat Express train will depart from Katra at 8.10 a.m. and arrive in Srinagar at 11.20 a.m.

Mail Express will run twice every day from Katra — departure at 9.50 a.m. and arrival in Srinagar at 1.10 p.m.; departure at 3.00 p.m. and arrival in Srinagar at 6.20 p.m.

Train timings from Srinagar to Katra for the Mail Express: departure from Srinagar at 8.55 a.m. and arrival in Katra at 12.05 p.m. The second run will be at 3:10 pm and arrival in Katra is at 6:30 pm.

Vande Bharat will depart from Srinagar at 12.45 p.m. and arrive in Katra at 3.55 p.m

The Vande Bharat train will start a 7 p.m. from Delhi and arrive in Srinagar at 8 a.m. The Katra-Srinagar link of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Batamulla Rail Link (USBRL) was the most ambitious and difficult link of this project.

Technically, this rail link is seen as a marvel of engineering with very few parallels anywhere else in the world. It involves some of the most challenging portions, including the bridge over the Chenab River in Ramban district, which is higher than the Eiffel Tower of Paris.

The Chenab Rail Bridge is a steel and concrete arch bridge carrying a single-track railway line, located between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of the Jammu division.

The bridge spans the Chenab River at a height of 359 m (1,178 ft) above the river, making it the World’s highest rail bridge and the World’s highest arch bridge.

The bridge was fully completed and was inaugurated in August 2022. It is built between the Sangaldan and the Reasi Railway stations.

USBRL is a dream come true for millions of people living in the landlocked Valley. It will give a quantum leap to tourism, trade, horticulture, and education and also change the very concept of travel to Kashmir Valley.–(IANS)

Good news for the job seekers especially for those who are planning to make a career in the teaching line as the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) has issued a fresh notification for the recruitment of different Railway teacher posts.

Ahead of Snowfall prediction, Dense Fog Engulfs Srinagar

Nights remain chilly as Shopian Shivers at -8.5°C, Larnoo at -8.2°C, Srinagar at -2.2°C

Srinagar, Jan 3 (JKNS): Ahead of snowfall prediction dense fog engulfed Srinagar and adjoining areas, while nights remained chilly in most parts of the valley on friday.

In the early morning, drivers were seen driving carefully while fog lights on.

Details provided by Kashmir Weather to news agency JKNS reads, In Kashmir, Shopian was the coldest place at -8.5°C. Other districts like Anantnag (-7.7°C), Larnoo (-8.2°C), and Khudwani (-7.1°C) also witnessed severe cold. In contrast, Srinagar recorded a relatively milder -2.2°C, while Qazigund and Pahalgam recorded -7.3°C and -4.5°C.

Budgam (-3.2°C), Baramulla (-4.8°C), Pulwama (-6.1°C), Ganderbal (-4.3°C), Kulgam (-6.8°C), and Bandipora (-2.5°C) also experienced biting cold, with Kokernag and Gulmarg at -5.5°C and -4.5°C, it reads.

In Jammu, Katra recorded the highest temperature at 11.0°C, while Padder saw the lowest at -1.2°C. Other districts like Jammu (7.3°C), Samba (6.1°C), Kathua (9.1°C), Rajouri (6.4°C), Udhampur (7.3°C), Poonch (8.1°C), Bhaderwah (2.3°C), Banihal (2.0°C), and Batote (5.8°C) reported varying degrees of winter chill.

Meanwhile, Ladakh remained under intense cold conditions, with Drass recording -8.6°C, Kargil -6.9°C, and Leh -4.4°C.

The cold wave is expected to decrease as wet weather is possible from the coming days.

It is pertinent to mention that Jammu and Kashmir is expected to witness another spell of Snow and Rains from 5th January onwards.(JKNS)

MeT issues ‘yellow alert’ for Jan 5, 6

Heavy snow, rains expected from Jan 4 to 6; Cold wave conditions prevail in Kashmir

Srinagar, Jan 02 (KNO): The local Meteorological department here has issued a ‘yellow alert’ for January 5 and January 6, saying that heavy rain and snowfall is expected at the isolated places during the period.

According to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the MeT department has issued an alert, stating that there is a possibility of heavy rain and snowfall at the isolated places. “The disruption of traffic on higher reaches snow avalanches, landslides and shooting stones are expected on January 5 and 6,” the MeT has said.

In a detailed forecast, the weatherman has stated that on January 3, the weather is expected to remain generally cloudy with the possibility of light snow at isolated higher reaches.

From January 4-6, Director MeT, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said that moderate to strong WD is expected and under its influence, there is a possibility of light to moderate rain in plains of Jammu and snow at most places of J&K with peak activity during 4th (Night) to 5th (late Night) and 6th morning & improvement from the afternoon.

He added that generally cloudy and dry weather is expected on January 7-10, adding that from January 11-12th, generally cloudy weather is expected with possibility of light snow at isolated places.

In its advisory, the MeT has said that in view of fresh snowfall, sub-freezing temperature & icy conditions over roads in plains and higher reaches, the tourists, travelers and transporters are advised to plan accordingly & follow administration and traffic advisory.

“There is a possibility of heavy snow at isolated higher reaches during 4th night to 5th late night,” it reads.

Furthermore, the night temperature has continued to settle below the freezing point in Kashmir. Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 2.4 degree Celsius while Kupwara recorded a minimum temperature of 1.4 degree Celsius.

However, Gulmarg, a famous ski-resort, recorded a low of minus 8.6 degree Celsius while Pahalgam, a famous tourist destination recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.0 degree Celsius. Qazigund, a gateway of Kashmir, has recorded a low of minus 5.2 degree Celsius while Kokernag in South Kashmir recorded minus 5.8 degree Celsius—(KNO)

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Govt to deliver free textbooks by Jan-end: Edu Minister

‘No syllabi relaxation to students for upcoming board exams’

Srinagar, Jan 02 (KNO): Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister, Sakina Thursday said that the students enrolled in government-run-schools will receive free textbooks by January-end.

Besides, Itoo further clarified that there will be no syllabi curtailment for the students appearing in upcoming board exams.

According to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the minister during a media interaction said, “All textbooks will be made available by January end. It took some time to make free textbooks available for the students.”

On asking about the curtailment of syllabi in upcoming board exams, Itoo said, “There will be no relaxation in syllabi for the board exams because the session has been changed only upto 9th standard.”

“The date-sheets have been already issued and we have taken students on board also, they have informed us that they are already preparing for the exams,” she said.

About the selling of textbooks by private schools within the institute, the education minister said that the government has constituted a district and zonal level committee. “They have been asked to monitor the violation so that appropriate action is taken against those private schools.”

On the occasion she further said that the School Education Department will allow or disallow private coaching during the winter vacations in accordance with the norms set by the government.

On the occasion Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary said, “The government will look into the issue of dysfunctional technical colleges of Jammu and Kashmir. We will streamline the issue soon.”

Pertinently, KNO earlier this week reported that even after two weeks of winter vacation, the students enrolled in government-run-schools were yet to receive free textbooks from the authorities—thus raising a question on the functioning of JKBOSE.

The delay in delivering the textbooks has left thousands of students at the receiving end as the School Education Department has failed to distribute the course books on time.

In the last week of December-2024, the CEOs of Kashmir region in a meeting with DSEK informed that they have submitted actual requirements of books as per the enrollment for the session 2024-25 to JKBOSE. “However, the receipt of such books is awaited.”

Following the culmination of the previous academic session, the minister had assured that the students would receive free textbooks immediately after the culmination of annual exams.

The minister had ordered and instructed the JKBOSE to ensure that the board will deliver free textbooks on time—(KNO)