The J&K education minister Altaf Bukhari on Saturday hit back at the Army Chief Bipin Rawat asking him that the Army should not meddle in the education sector of the state and concentrate on its own job.
The minister was reacting to Rawat’s comment yesterday that the social media and government schools in Jammu and Kashmir are spreading a “disinformation campaign” resulting in radicalisation of youth and called for “some control” over mosques and madrasas in the state.
Bukhari told reporters during a function in Srinagar that the . “Army should concentrate on their job and not interfere in education sector”.
Expressing displeasure, Bukhari said everyone was passing comments on education sector, “which is not acceptable”. “Even those who don’t have domain in education sector issue comments on education,” he said.
The minister said it was the job of education sector to deal with it and that they know how to run it. “Perhaps the people who are giving comments on how we should run education sector are not doing their job properly and that’s why we are suffering,” said the minister.
The minister’s comments came a day after the Army chief said that in the schools in Jammu & Kashmir, what teachers are teaching should not be taught. In schools in J&K, there can be seen two maps, one of India another of J&K. Why do we need a separate map for J&K? What does it teach the children?” he asked.
Rawat said students from schools like DPS were not found involved in activities like stone-pelting, and added that is why the ‘goodwill schools’ run by the Army are accorded higher status.
The Army chief said opening more public schools, more CBSE schools, was the way forward.