BJP-PDP coalition govt has no education policy: Harsh Dev

ADHIRAJ MALHAN

JAMMU: The present coalition government led by Mehbooa Mufti has no education policy and it failed to take forward the reforms carried out by the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government in 2002 said former education minister and senior JKNPP leader Harsh Dev.
A strong political will is needed to remove discrepancies from education sector and to provide quality education in the state, he said while adding that the present dispensation lacks the will. Talking to The News Now team under the Newsroom Roundtable series, Harsh Dev Singh asserted that the education system in Jammu and Kashmir needs a lot of push but the present government is not giving any attention to the sector, particularly higher studies.
He said the colleges that have been opened lack proper infrastructure and faculty. Huge buildings and name plates will not benefit the youth if there is no faculty for teaching, he added.
Recalling his stint as education minister, Harsh Dev said near about 470 schools in remote areas had not been functioning as there was no teacher willing to be posted there. “Most teachers posted in the schools had got themselves transferred to city. In a single stroke, I detached 2,800 teachers and asked them to join their original posting. Some minister colleagues and MLAs raised objections but the CM backed me and the order was implemented. Most of these teachers were influential and had strong political, bureaucratic links. I never used different yard sticks and took strong steps to streamline the education department, later former chief minister appreciated my efforts,” he said.
To boost the morale of teachers, I removed pay anomalies as the demand had been pending for 22 years. During my tenure no strike was called by union leaders, added Harsh Dev.
The Jammu University is doing well and has been given A+ grade by NAAC. But most other colleges urgently need good faculty.