SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday ordered all private tuition centres in the Valley closed for three months in a bid to contain relentless student protests against the brutal rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomad girl in Kathua.
“All the private tuition centres which offer tuitions up to class 12th will be closed for three months and the decision will be reviewed on a fortnightly basis,” J&K Education and Finance Minister Syed Altaf Bukhari said.
He said the decision was taken to remove distractions in and around schools and to put in place a regulatory mechanism for improving the academic environment in the state.
The minister directed officials to compile a list of teachers working in the coaching centres and asked school authorities to conduct a parent-teacher meeting once every week.
Bukhari said the order would have no bearing on coaching centres which provide coaching for professional courses to students who have passed the class 12 examination.
Students in the Valley have been staging near-daily protests against the Kathua incident and clashing with security personnel. Many students, including girls, have been injured in the clashes. In view of the protests, the government had been shutting down schools and colleges.
Bukhari appealed to students to return to their schools and colleges and resume their studies.
The education minister had warned the students on Saturday that if they continued the protests, the government would close all educational institutions in the Valley.
The move to close private tuition centres has been condemned by mainstream and separatist political leaders.
The Congress spokesman said closure of tuition centres would have a serious impact on the career prospects of the students.
“It will add further chaos to the situation and send wrong signal among the common masses in valley,” he said.
Describing the move as an endorsement of the failures on part of PDP-BJP government, the spokesman urged the government to revoke the order and take corrective measures to contain the situation.
Independent MLA Er Sheikh Abdur Rashid said the move is unjustified, harsh and unacceptable.
“Education Minister’s decision to close coaching centres seems an action of revenge against the student community, who were well within their limits to protest against Kathua incident,” he said.
Meanwhile, hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani termed closing of coaching Centres’ as an “Education War”.
“Where will the students go now? The students used to go to tuition centres to prepare for examinations. Now India has started depriving our students from education,” he said.
The 8-year-old girl hailing from Rasana village of Kathua had gone missing while grazing ponies near her home on January 10. Her body with violence and torture marks was recovered a week later. She was sexually assaulted before being killed by her abductors in a devasthan belonging to a former revenue official and main accused in the crime Sanji Ram.