Jammu and Kashmir: Remedial classes for students of border areas to overcome academic losses

Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to arrange remedial classes for the students of the schools closed due to cross-border shelling in Jammu region. 

"Once the situation along the International Border and Line of Control (LoC) normalises, we would arrange remedial classes for the affected students,” said Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Education.

Around 300 schools remained closed along the LoC and IB since January 18 due to recurrent cross-border shelling.

Legislators of border districts of Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Poonch, and Rajouri, raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly and expressed grave concern over the loss of precious time of the students due to continued border shelling. They demanded setting up of special coaching centres for the affected students.

"As far as the closure of schools along the border is concerned, I assure them that we will run remedial classes for the affected students once the situation normalises so that the education of our children does not suffer,” Bukhari said.

An eerie calm descended on the borders on Tuesday after six days of intense shelling that claimed 12 lives and uprooted thousands of people in the Jammu region. 

Both Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border witnessed a relative calm on Tuesday. 

Incidentally, cross-border shelling has stopped after Border Security Force (BSF) destroyed fuel and ammunition dump beside several positions of Pakistan forces in a massive retaliation  to the repeated ceasefire violations on the international border (IB) 

More than 12 people have been killed in the Pakistani shelling on Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) since Wednesday night.  More than 50 people have suffered injuries and 50,000 people have fled their homes in Jammu division. Schools and educational institutions in the five-kilometer range of International Border and LoC have been shut as a precautionary measure.