J&K Govt mulls massive crackdown on ‘dummy school mafia’
‘Tough penalties for schools operating without official recognition’ Won’t allow anyone to play with career of students: Officials
Srinagar, Feb 18: In a significant move to regulate private education in Jammu and Kashmir, the government has decided to take strict action against schools operating without proper registration for higher classes.
This follows a recent controversy where a private school illegally enrolled class 9 and class 10 students, despite being recognized only up to class 8. The government’s intervention allowed 22 affected students to take part in their annual exams, but the incident has prompted authorities to clamp down on illegal operations aimed at profiting from unregistered institutions.
A senior government official told Rising Kashmir that the Education Ministry has issued clear directives to enforce strict action against non-compliant schools. “Parents must also come forward and report such institutions to protect their children’s academic future,” the official said. “Any school found violating regulations will face severe penalties.”
The Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE) has also activated its full network to track schools operating without proper recognition or affiliation. “BOSE is responsible for the recognition of schools offering classes 9 to 12, and we have intensified efforts to ensure compliance. Schools without proper accreditation or connections to recognized institutions for board exams are under scrutiny,” a senior BOSE official explained. “Schools that exploit students by enrolling them in unrecognized institutions will face strict penalties.”
To uncover these schools, flying squads from BOSE will conduct surprise inspections. Parents and civil society groups have also been encouraged to report unregistered institutions. “We urge the public to come forward and file formal complaints about schools lacking proper recognition,” the BOSE official added.
With the crackdown gaining momentum, education authorities are advising parents to thoroughly verify school credentials before enrolling their children. The initiative is expected to promote greater accountability within the private education sector in J&K and prevent students from being misled by unauthorised institutions.
Sources said that the government will also pass similar directions to the School Education Department (SED) which is responsible from class 1 to 8 (recognition, tagging and affiliations) to keep a watch on “illegal operations of private schools.” A source in the Education department said that running schools illegally is actually a big mafia that needs to be exposed.
“Despite SED offering them tagging options and BOSE ready to affiliate them after following proper procedure, there are many rather dummy schools that are operating without proper recognition.
This is a big mafia that needs to be exposed,” he said. Sources said that Education Minister Sakina Itoo has directed the Education department to go hard against the “fake schools” who are jeopardising the career of innocent students.–(RK)
