SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said the responsibility of shaping the future of children cannot be left to teachers alone, stressing that the government, parents and teachers must work together to prepare students for a rapidly changing world.
Addressing a one-day education conference organised by the J&K Teachers Forum at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), Omar said teachers were facing challenges that were very different from those confronting the profession 10 or 20 years ago.
The conference, themed “Child is Our Priority”, brought together teachers, educators, researchers and policymakers to deliberate on issues confronting the education sector and the challenges faced by teachers and students.
“There was a time when we could not even think of complaining about teachers. From KG to Class 12, I do not remember ever complaining to my parents about any teacher,” Omar said, noting that children today are growing up in a vastly different environment.
He said children should be encouraged to ask questions but must also learn to listen and engage with the answers they receive.
Referring to the growing influence of technology, the Chief Minister said teachers now have to compete for students’ attention with smartphones, social media, television and artificial intelligence.
He said the growing use of AI had also created new challenges for teachers, including determining whether students had completed assignments themselves or relied on artificial intelligence.
Omar also acknowledged that teachers were frequently assigned duties beyond classroom teaching, including preparations for cultural programmes, commemorative events, Nasha Mukt Bharat campaigns and elections.
He assured the teaching community that the government would address their genuine service-related concerns, including transfers, Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs), vacancies and other issues.
“If you have problems with transfers, if you have problems with DPCs, if you have problems with vacancies, if you have problems with other things, then we have to solve those problems,” he said.
The Chief Minister said he and Education Minister Sakina Itoo would work together to resolve issues confronting teachers.
He also highlighted the difficult conditions faced by teachers posted in remote and rural areas, saying there were disparities in the distribution of teachers, with some urban schools having more teachers while schools in remote areas continued to face shortages.
“There are gaps in the infrastructure. We talk about smart classes, but how far have we been able to take them?” Omar said, pointing to schools functioning from rented accommodation and unsafe buildings.
He said providing infrastructure and filling vacancies was the government’s responsibility.
“Strengthening your hands so that you can do your work properly is the responsibility of me and my colleagues,” he said.
Omar urged teachers to help children identify their aspirations and prepare them to contribute positively to Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the pace of global change was accelerating and the education system needed to prepare children for a future vastly different from the present.
“We have progressed a lot from 1947 to today. But the world is changing very fast. The changes that took 30, 40 or 50 years will happen very fast in the next 20 or 30 years. We have to prepare our kids for that,” he said.
He stressed that the responsibility of transforming education could not be placed solely on teachers.
“You will only be able to succeed if we succeed. If we fix your situation, if we improve the school, then you will improve the future of your kids,” Omar said.
On the issue of the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), the Chief Minister said the government had repeatedly raised the matter and would continue to pursue it while keeping the interests of J&K students in mind.
“We will try to address it but with the hope that we will improve the education of J&K students,” he said.
“Don’t think that we have given you all the responsibility, that you do it and we leave. That won’t happen,” Omar told the teachers.
Education Minister Sakina Itoo and Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani also addressed the conference and highlighted the role of teachers in society. They also spoke about various initiatives undertaken by the Omar Abdullah-led government, including the reversal of the winter session in Kashmir Valley and winter zones of Jammu division.
MLA Beerwah Dr Shafi Ahmed Wani, MLA Khansahab Saifuddin Bhat, Director School Education Kashmir Naseer Ahmed Wani, Chief Education Officers, J&K Teachers Forum chairman Mohd Shafi Rather, office-bearers of the forum and a large number of teachers attended the conference.
