Anantnag, Aug 24 (KNO): Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister, Sakina Itoo Saturday addressed a press conference in Anantnag, clarifying the government’s position on the functioning of schools affiliated with the Falah-e-Aam Trust (FAT).
As per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) Sakina said that the future of 51,000 students enrolled in these institutions would not be jeopardized due to administrative and verification hurdles.
Itoo said the charge of FAT-affiliated schools has been temporarily handed over to the principals of nearby government higher secondary schools until the process of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) verification of their management committees is completed.
“If any school receives clearance earlier, we have no objection in immediately handing it back to the local community. This decision is purely to safeguard the future of students who cannot be left without institutional responsibility,” she said.
The minister explained that since 2019, FAT schools have been operating without formal management committees or proper registration. According to her, the reason lies in adverse CID reports against certain members of the committees, which blocked the process of renewal.
“As a result, around 51,000 students were left in uncertainty. They had no one to take responsibility for their academics, and last time, even the board refused to accept forms of three girl students. Such situations were creating unnecessary hurdles and mental stress for children,” Itoo said.
To prevent further complications, the Education Department decided to authorize government school principals to oversee administrative responsibilities, including signing board examination forms, until new committees are formed and verified.
Responding sharply to criticism from opposition parties, particularly the PDP, Itoo accused them of double standards and politicizing a sensitive matter.
She recalled that in 2002, under the government of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Jamaat-e-Islami-run schools were raided and shut down, yet those who are raising questions today remained silent.
“Again in 2019, under the PDP government, adverse CID reports came against FAT schools, leaving them without registration and management. Those who were in power then did not utter a single word. But today, when we are working to ensure students don’t suffer, they are spreading misinformation that schools are being closed,” she said.
The minister further alleged that her original order was deliberately modified but they aren't asking anything to them.
“I had clearly mentioned that these schools would be supervised by principals of the nearest government schools only as an interim arrangement and would be handed back once the CID clearance comes within three months. Our intention is not to close schools but to provide them a way to function smoothly with proper management,” Itoo clarified.
She reiterated that the FAT schools were not shut down under the present dispensation, but rather given a mechanism to continue functioning until legal and administrative formalities are completed.
“Those who claim schools are being closed must understand these schools have been facing restrictions since 2019. Instead of playing politics, opposition leaders should ask why nothing was done back then. We have opened a pathway so that they get registered with proper managing bodies, and children are not denied education,” she said.
In a direct attack on PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, Itoo asked why the party had remained silent for the past several years on this issue.
“If we are in this situation today, where J&K has limited powers as a Union Territory, it is because of PDP’s failures. Till now, they were mum, and suddenly they are projecting themselves as champions of education. My question to Mehbooba Mufti is simple – where were you sleeping all these years when students were suffering? This is about the careers of our children and not about politics,” she said
Itoo assured parents and students that the government’s priority is to protect education and prevent disruption in the academic calendar. She emphasized that the move is a temporary arrangement until the schools are regularized through proper management committees cleared by CID—(KNO)