Students’ Uncertainty brighterkashmir.com

In this uncertain time in our history, imagine being a student of Class 10 at one of the schools in Kashmir that have remained under lockdown for close to three months now. While the world around you debated whether the move by the BJP-led central government to strip Jammu and Kashmir of the special status was India’s ‘internal’ or ‘external’ matter, ‘constitutional’ or ‘unconstitutional’ move, brazen or bold attempt, you have been confined to your home, waiting in anticipation for some kind of announcement on the resumption of academic activities. With time running out, you want to self study to cover up for the absence of the classroom but there is no respite. The Internet has been banned. You can’t make calls to seek the advice of your teachers because the government thinks the resumption of mobile service can pose a threat to national security. What about social security, you wonder. What about the careers of thousands of students? But you fail to elicit any answer from the authorities. Then one fine day, the government believes that the threat no longer exists and mobile services are resumed. Within a passage of a few days, you are told to get ready for the exam! It has been barely over a fortnight since services were restored by telecom operators on postpaid mobile connections but over 60000 anguished students in Kashmir have been pushed to write their papers despite the tensions that kept them out of classrooms. Although the government had made several arrangements to facilitate the examination including the transport facility, it has to be said that the students were clearly not ready for the exam. Due to the prevailing crisis, they were unable to cope up with the challenges posed by the closure of schools in the Valley. Their problems were aggravated when the authorities declared that there will not be any relaxation in the syllabus. Most students complain that they had completed not even half of the syllabus prescribed by the board of school education, yet they had no option but to appear in the exam. On the roads, as the public transport continues to remain off roads, many students struggled to reach their respective exam centers. It was a day of horror for them. These are not beautiful memories. For young, impressionable children, the scars of today can become memories for a lifetime. However, that Kashmir’s young generation continues to excel despite the prevailing challenges shows only a streak of our resilient character.