The Jammu and Kashmir government has targeted the Army chief, General Bipin Rawat, who showed the mirror to the authorities by stating that social media and schools in J&K were “radicalising” students.

The Army chief recently said social media and government schools in Jammu and Kashmir are spreading a major disinformation campaign which is radicalising the youth.

His viewpoint was sharply criticised by the state’s education minister Altaf Bukhari who asked the Army chief to “mind his own business”. The government knows how to run schools and the army chief is not an educationist, he said.

Bukhari said “Everyone has his own domain. Those who have no link to education are talking about it. It is not a fair comment and we do not accept it.”

However, the minister’s remarks generated a quick snub from the BJP, which is a coalition partner of the Mehbooba Mufti led government, when the party’s spokesman, Brigadier (Retd) Anil Gupta, issued a statement asking the education minister to “smell the coffee rather than locking horns with Army chief”.

The Army chief’s remarks should be viewed positively rather than turning it into a political issue since his statement is based on his vast experience of service in the Valley as well as through his interactions with students at various levels. “Even, the Chief Minister of the state has voiced her concern over radicalisation and indoctrination of youths in her recent speech. She had also referred to ‘glorification of gun’ on the social media as a matter of concern,” Gupta pointed out.

The Army is an important stakeholder in the restoration of peace and normalcy in the state. The Chief is well within his rights and democratic mandate to voice concern about issues which affect national integration and act contradictory to the achievement of the desired goal of long lasting peace and normalcy, Gupta said.

The ground reality is that the condition of government schools in most parts of the state is terrible. School buildings are in shambles, the strength of teachers and infrastructure in rural areas is terrible. Some  schools, burnt by terrorists and mischievous elements in the Kashmir valley, have not yet been rebuilt by the government.

The education minister should have kept in mind that the Goodwill Schools established by the Army in the remote areas of the state have become the first choice for parents to admit their children despite the call of separatists to boycott these schools. Besides providing quality education, the results of these CBSE affiliated schools have been excellent.

In a bid to reshape the contours of quality education in terrorism-hit J&K, the Army laid a major thrust to provide education to underprivileged sections of the state and the regions eluded by development. Some of these schools are located in South Kashmir that is considered the hub of terrorism.

The Indian Army over the years has established 46 Army Goodwill Schools and rendered assistance to approximately 1900 state government-run schools in remote areas through renovation, construction of additional class rooms, libraries, toilets, playgrounds, sports facilities, provisioning of furniture, computers, educational software packages, stationery and books. Approximately one lakh students have benefitted in the last 15 years wherein they have obtained middle and higher secondary level education.

The popularity of Army Goodwill Schools can be measured by the fact that there is a growing clamour among the local population for opening more such schools and approximately 14,000 students are currently obtaining quality education at primary and higher secondary levels. Approximately 840 students from economically weaker sections are receiving scholarships, the total value of which is a little above Rs 2 crore for studies in schools within and outside the state.

The Army is running separate schools for children of the nomadic shepherds and is providing education to more than 200 students near the grazing lands.

The Army Goodwill School at Behibagh in South Kashmir was recently renamed after Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz who was abducted by terrorists in Shopian and killed last year.

Former Chief Minister, the late Mufti Sayeed, had persuaded the Army to establish Goodwill Schools at various places in South Kashmir, including Pahalgam and Kulgam. More than 3680 students have completed their education from the Goodwill School at Behibagh that was the hot-spot of militancy.

The Goodwill School at Karu in Ladakh is also providing hi-tech computer laboratory and coaching for admission to NDA and military schools. The school campus at Rajouri near the Line of Control (LOC) is spread over an area of 38 acres.