Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly has refused to approve the Private Member’s Bill seeking making government schools compulsory for the offspring of public men and public servants on September 24. The Bill had been presented by Langate MLA Sheikh Khursheed Ahmad in the ongoing Assembly Session.

The Private Member’s Bill entitled “A Bill to make it obligatory for the Public Men and Public Servants to educate their children in Government educational institutions” sought making it mandatory for the children of public men and public servants to enroll themselves in government schools. According to Sheikh Khursheed, increasing enrolment in government institutions could help improving its working.

However, the School Education Minister Sakeena Itoo rejected the proposal on the grounds that compulsory enrollment was not a viable policy. The minister said that the government was striving for improving infrastructure of government schools and increasing the number of enrolments in government schools.

Further, the minister stressed that it was important for children and their parents to have the right to make choices regarding educational institutions. Referring to the performance of government school students who pass NEET examination, she said that it would be better to improve the confidence of people in government schools rather than making attendance compulsory.

I too asked Sheikh Khursheed to withdraw his Bill, but he refused. Thereafter, the bill was put to voting by Abdul Rahim Rather, Speaker, and it was defeated by voice voting.

The debate has raised some new issues about the quality, enrollment, and confidence of people in the government schools again. Though the Bill has not passed in the Assembly, it reflected two different methods of enhancing the system of public education, i.e., through improvement and voluntary enrollment on one side, and on the other hand through involvement of families of public officials.