Srinagar: Stating that stone pelting was not the solution to “every problem”, Minister for School Education Syed Altaf Bukahri on Sunday said that the department “through request and formal order” will ask coaching centres to “shut shops” for at least 90 days.
“We don’t want to shift focus. My focus is to have proper schooling. We were looking at distractions and one of the distractions we found was coaching centres. We by request and by passing an official order will ask them (coaching centres) to shut their shops for 90 months. We will review it for 90 days months,” Education minister Altaf Bukhari reporters after a meeting of chief education officers, zonal education officers and principals of higher secondary schools. The decision has been taken in view of widespread student protests over the gruesome gang rape-and-murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua.
“We are custodian of students and we see that some elements get mingled with our students and they start pelting stones. Pelting stones is not the solution to everything. How can stone pelting give justice to the minor victim? Instead we are doing injustice with somebody to whom we pelt stones upon. We are pelting stones on our own vehicles or our visitors. We don’t think of a ponny walla, houseboat owner or boatman who gets sustenance for entire year (from tourism season,” he said.
He also asked the director school education Kashmir to submit list of teachers, masters and lecturers who are working in private coaching centres for “necessary action.”
