Kashmir, India (AHN) – Despite Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s call to parents to strictly observe curfew and stay at home, schools in the Kashmir Valley on Monday finally reopened after 100 days, but faced thin attendance as curfews continued in several parts of the state.
The schools in the valley have been closed since June 11 when a police tear gas shell killed a 17-year-old student.
The state’s education system is facing the brunt of the ongoing damage in the region. However, the regional government is now keen on reopening the schools. It started a fleet of 170 state road transport corporation buses on 11 routes across the city for smoother movement of schoolteachers and students.
Attendance was only 20 percent on the first day, but authorities were optimistic about their improvement later this week.
On Sunday, State Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed assured students that their academic year would not be lost due to the current unrest and announced that the annual exams would soon be held in the Valley. “We have formulated a plan to reopen all the schools in rural as well as urban areas including Srinagar city from tomorrow,” the minister said.
In response to Sayeed’s comments, separatist leader Geelani said that the importance of education in society could not be denied but suspected government’s concern about thinking the future of their children.
He also called on people, parents and teachers to strictly observe the civil curfew. Several private schools in the valley decided to monitor the functioning of government schools before resuming services.
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