A free open-air class in Kashmir which depends on sun, rain and clouds

With the break of the dawn, students start pouring into a field located in the old city of Srinagar, carrying their foldable chairs and mats to attend classes. Adhering to the social distancing norm, they sit at a distance while listening to their teacher from 5 AM in the morning till 8 AM. 

Owing to the slow internet speed and spread of coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir, an engineer-turned-teacher has started free open-air coaching classes at a ground in Srinagar. 

The session duration is decided by the weather if it's cloudy, the class goes on for long but if it's sunny and warm, the lecture stops soon, and if it's raining there is no class. Due to the spread of coronavirus, 40-year-old Muneer Alam decided to hold his tuition classes free for students till the pandemic is over in open air. 

'When you think about the future of your kids and society, you wouldn't be able to sleep & will have to sacrifice your sleep. This gets me going & I reach here when it's still dark,"  says  Alam, a teacher by profession, who would usually attend them in a proper classroom. 

The move was also triggered after students were unable to attend their classes due to the 2G internet connectivity in the union territory. The students say they would often feel disappointed by the online lectures. The J&K has been without high-speed mobile internet service since August last year when the Centre decided to scrap J&K special status. 

"In online classes, connectivity is a major problem & we were unable to understand lectures. We are able to interact with our teacher well here which we couldn't in online classes," says Mahira Shabir, a 12th class student. 

People in Jammu as well and Kashmir have been demanding 4G mobile internet connectivity for months now but the government claims the security situation is fluid and Pakistan can use the medium to derail the peace process in the valley which mainstream political parties reject.