SRINAGAR: Asking children not to attend classes and warning parents against sending their wards to schools is the biggest disservice to Islam, Farooq Khan, an advisor to the Jammu and Kashmir governor, said.
Posters have appeared in Srinagar warning people to keep their children away from schools after the Centre abrogated Jammu and Kashmir's special status last month.
"The terrorists want the public to remain illiterate so that they can control their mind," the advisor to Governor Satya Pal Malik said.
Khan, a former administrator of Lakshwadeep who was brought in as the advisor in view of his expertise on Jammu and Kashmir, appealed to the parents to send their children to schools and said there were no plans to change the exam dates.
The exams are held in October-end and November and the dates are announced by Board of School Education.
"The exams will be held on time," says Khan, a retired IPS officer. On the posters, Khan said, "What type of religion are they (terrorists) following. It's definitely not Islam. The holy book begins with the word 'ikra' which means recite or to read".
"I wonder what type of Islam are these people preaching. It can be anything but not that," Khan told PTI here.
Khan has been given the charge of school education among other portfolios. "We have opened the schools and parents have to come forward for their own wards. I can assure that they will be safe," he said.
Private schools have been regularly advertising in local newspapers asking children to collect their assignments and complete their registration for the board exams.