Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Sep 24
Education Minister Sakina Itoo on Thursday said the government could not force its employees to send their children to government schools, rejecting a bill that sought to make such enrolment mandatory.
Itoo told the Legislative Assembly that children and parents had the right to choose between government and private schools.
She was responding to a private members’ bill introduced by Langate lawmaker Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh seeking compulsory enrolment of government employees’ children in government schools.
Itoo said government schools had recorded improvements in results, enrolment, infrastructure and smart classrooms over the past two years, although more work was needed.
She said the government should persuade parents by improving the quality of public education rather than impose a legal requirement.
“If someone is convinced that the quality of education in a government school is better, if my child studies there, it is better,” she said.
Itoo also cited the performance of students who had qualified competitive examinations, saying many had studied in government schools.
She urged legislators to visit government schools and help build public confidence in them, saying legislation alone would not achieve that objective.
The minister appealed to Sheikh to withdraw the bill, saying improving government education and encouraging families to choose it voluntarily required a collective effort.
