Students Allege Govt Of Using Them As ‘Cannon Fodder’ newsclick.in

The decision to conduct the J&K board examinations, which are to commence from October 29, has been taken despite the continuing “atmosphere of fear and unpredictability”.Strange as it may sound, the examinations for up to higher secondary level, as announced by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education are to commence from the next week. The decision to continue with the exams has been taken despite the fact that students have continued to boycott schools and colleges in Kashmir after the August 5 announcement, which removed the special constitutional status granted to Jammu and Kashmir.

Since the government announced the schedule for the examination “a mysterious fire” has reduced two schools to ashes in South Kashmir. Apart from the improvement in the movement of private vehicles at some places, the shutdown has remained uninterrupted for the last eighty days with internet services down, shops and other commercial establishments closed and public transport off the roads.

Even though the government had announced the opening of schools and colleges in the first month of the lockdown, students failed to show up. The decision to conduct the examination in “an atmosphere of fear and unpredictability” has led to the belief that students are being used as cannon fodder to project a false sense of normalcy.