Pawan Khajuria Meets Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan; Highlights Critical Gaps in Jammu and Kashmir’s Education Sector

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 24 : Senior leader Pawan Khajuria met with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the national capital today to submit a detailed representation regarding the persistent shortcomings in the education system of Jammu and Kashmir.

During the meeting, Khajuria apprised the Minister of the significant disparity in educational quality between urban centers and the remote hilly terrains of the Union Territory. He pointed out that while the Government of India has introduced transformative reforms nationwide, the grassroots impact of the New Education Policy (NEP) remains largely invisible in J&K due to a lack of modern facilities and a critical shortage of teaching staff in high-altitude regions.

Khajuria raised serious concerns over the administrative “state of uncertainty” surrounding 61 schools that were upgraded on paper as far back as 2011. He noted that although these institutions were elevated from middle to high school and higher secondary levels, the corresponding appointments of teachers and lecturers were never finalized, leaving students’ futures at risk. Additionally, he highlighted a staggering dropout rate of over 25 percent at the secondary level, which he attributed to thousands of vacant teaching posts and inadequate infrastructure, including a lack of proper classrooms, libraries, and laboratories.

The leader emphasized that even in the current digital era, technical education remains severely neglected due to a lack of both digital infrastructure and trained personnel.To address these systemic issues, Khajuria proposed several urgent interventions, including regular teacher training programs and the promotion of digital literacy in rural areas.

He specifically demanded the establishment of new Kendriya Vidyalaya branches in the Majalta and Khoon areas of Udhampur district. Such a move, he argued, would provide high-quality education to both the children of Army, BSF, and Air Force personnel stationed in the region and the local civilian population.

Urging the Union Minister to take immediate cognizance of these ground realities, Khajuria called for concrete decisions to fill vacant posts and modernize the school framework to ensure equitable education for all students in Jammu and Kashmir.