Terming Kashmiris as very sensitive and conscious about their dignity, union human resource development minister, Kapil Sibal assured that the students of Kashmir will be provided security in different parts of India. Hailing from Punjab, Sibal visited Kashmir on the invitation of a private educational institute.
It is probably for the first time that a minister from New Delhi had accepted the invitation of a private institution of Kashmir. He visited the southern town of Pulwama and talked about the failures of the state government in the educational sector. Interestingly, Omar government did not react to any of his statements.
Lawyer turned politician, 64-year-old Sibal said there were reports of mismanagement in some of the centrally sponsored educational schemes in the state and his ministry was inquiring into those reports. Criticizing the state government for its wrong policies of education, a poet and writer, Sibal, said the J&K government had hampered the growth of educational institutions in the private sector.
Sibal revealed his ministry was setting up more universities in the state in collaboration with the local private educational institutions. He said his ministry wanted the growth of private educational institutions across the country.
Referring to Project Approval Board (PAB) report, Sibal lashed out at Omar government saying, “In May this year, PAB had pointed out poor implementation of SSA in Jammu and Kashmir.” Taking a dig at the J&K government, the minister said he was aware that the school buildings under Sarva Shiksha Abhyan (SSA) and other schemes in the state were not completed.
“The construction works were either left half way or they were not taken up at all. And then suddenly the cost went up,” Sibal said. He added, “I know that some of the school buildings have not been completed; some are half done and some have been completed. We have set up a committee to look into the problems faced in the implementation of the schemes”. Maintaining that the implementation of Right to Education Act was responsibility of the state government, Sibal said a committee has been set up to probe irregularities in centrally sponsored scheme SSA in J&K. “The state government has to do a proper mapping of the neighbourhoods and ensure the implementation of Right to Education Act in the state,” he said.
Apparently pointing at the laziness of Omar government, Sibal said National Institute of Technology, Srinagar has been given the permission to set up two more campuses and more funds have been released for the universities in the state.
