Schooling and Education: Changing Realities of Kashmir

Kashmir has long been a focal point of political discussions, with much said and written about its contested space. However, education and, more significantly, the school landscape in this conflict-ridden region of Jammu and Kashmir have received little attention from policymakers and intellectuals in mainland India. One prime factor behind this is that the region's political turmoil often overshadows educational concerns, leaving education undervalued and neglected. This neglect has led to a significant decline in educational standards, disproportionately affecting the poor and marginalized. Despite some interventions related to education by various governments, these have not been able to significantly impact the region's educational landscape. The article makes an attempt to understand how educational governance and schooling practices in Kashmir have evolved in response to prolonged turmoil and successive policy interventions. The article also looks into the specific interventions related to school education in Jammu and Kashmir post-2019. This article examines the state of school education in the context of Kashmir. It highlights the urgent need to prioritize context-specific educational reform in the region. The article also highlighted the policy shift since 2019 and its immediate effects on the educational landscape of Jammu and Kashmir.