Students flock to schools in Kashmir

Anantnag district of South Kashmir recorded the highest 90 per cent turnout of students today, while the lowest 50 per cent was registered in nearby Kulgam district, official sources said, adding that there was 26 per cent higher attendance in schools in the Valley.

Yesterday, the figure was 63 per cent and 40 per cent in Anantnag and Kulgam districts respectively.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Srinagar which witnessed a dismal 16 per cent of turnout of the students yesterday, registered manifold increase as the turnout jumped to 62 per cent.

Pulwama, also in South Kashmir, recorded healthy student attendance of 85 per cent followed by Shopian (80 per cent), Bandipora (66 per cent), Kupwara (65 per cent), Budgam (60 per cent) and Ganderbal (55 per cent), the sources said.

They said the highway town of Awantipora, 32 kms from here in Pulwama district, registered 100 per cent attendance of the students as well as the teaching staff. Only 11 per cent students attended schools yesterday in this district.

The student attendance showed remarkable improvement as almost all the private educational institutions across the Valley reopened this morning, the sources said.
Life returned to normal in Srinagar and other major towns of the Valley as the hardline Hurriyat faction headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, which had asked the people not to send their children to schools, had exempted the day from its protest calender.
Expressing happiness over the functioning of the educational institutions which remained shut for almost over three months, Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed today said "there is a need to keep the education above politics to save the future of the children.

"The strike call or the curfew should not affect the functioning of the schools or colleges," he said adding "we have requested the private schools to resume functioning, irrespective of curfew or strike call.

"If they (the private schools) keep schools open only according to the strike calendar of separatists in future, we can take action against them as per the rules," the minister warned.