Jammu and Kashmir administration has announced the exams for class 5 to 12 even as the security concerns remain. According to a report by The India Express, the exams have been slated to begin from October 29. While Class 10 exams will begin from October 29, Class 12 examinations will commence from October 30, the Indian Express report said. It also added that class 9 exams have been scheduled to start from November 18. “Class 10 exam will be completed in 20 days while Class 9 and 12 exams will be completed in about a month,” JKBOSE chairperson Veena Pandita was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
Though the decision is seen as part of administration’s continued effort to normalise the situation in the Valley, it has left the parent worried over the security of their children, the report added. Ever since Article 370 abrogation and subsequent lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir, situation has been tense since August 5. There have been many sporadic incidents of violence in the region. On August 19, 190 schools in various zones of Srinagar district were reopened, but the attendance of students remained an issue. In fact, a report by The Wire said that the Jammu and Kashmir Governor’s office has decided to keep a strict vigil on the day-t-day functioning of the schools and other educational institutes in the region.
With uneasy calm, not many parents are keen on sending their children to schools. In a bid to bring back normalcy in the region, part from school exams, the administration is also looking for conduction exams for under-graduate students, The Wire said.
On October 16, an Apple trader from Punjab was shot dead and another injured in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, where normal life remained affected for the 73rd consecutive day since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution. According to the police, Charanjeet Singh and Sanjeev were shot at by 3-4 unidentified terrorists around 7.30 pm. They were rushed to the district hospital in Pulwama where Charanjeet succumbed to his injuries during the treatment while Sanjeev's condition is stated to be critical.
This is the second killing of the day and third such incident in as many days in the Valley. On the same day, a migrant labourer from Chhattisgarh was shot dead by terrorists in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. Sethi Kumar Sagar, a resident of Besoli area of Chhattisgarh, was a brick kiln worker. He was walking with another civilian when two terrorists shot at him near Kakpora railway station, Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh said.