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Zara Noor In the crisp autumn air of the Kashmir Valley, where the chinar leaves turn a fiery red and this season of change mirrors a significant transformation in the region’s educational landscape. The Jammu and Kashmir administration has completed the transfer of administrative control of 215 educational institutions previously run by the Falah-e-Aam Trust to the School Education Department. The process, which started on August 23, 2025, is considered the biggest single restructuring of school management in the Union Territory since the reorganisation of 2019. These institutions, which include 31 higher secondary schools, 92 high schools, and 92 middle/primary schools, are now under direct government supervision in all ten districts of the Kashmir Division. Official records place the current enrolment at 51,428 students and teaching staff strength at 2,812.
This transformation, as described by the authorities, was orderly and there was no disruption to the academic session. There were security arrangements which were just precautionary and not interventive. All school buildings are going to continue to function from their existing premises, which keeps the environment familiar for students.
There are going to be some key administration changes though. One major change is immediate adoption of NCERT curriculum from the current academic year. Also, all eligible teachers will be integrated into the department’s payroll as “academic arrangement” staff, pending formal verification. The government is going to introduce biometric attendance and digital fee portals across all campuses. Then there is allocation of Rupees 187 crore for infrastructure upgrades, which includes science laboratories, computer centres, and winter heating systems which are a necessity for every school.
There will be Enhanced Student Benefits as well. Every enrolled student now qualifies for centrally sponsored schemes previously unavailable to many FAT institutions like free textbooks and uniforms under Samagra Shiksha, Mid-day meals extended to upper primary sections, direct benefit transfer of scholarships through PFMS and access to vocational courses under Skill India from Class 9 onward.
The department has also approved solar power backup for 67 schools in regions that frequently experience extended power outages and broadband connectivity for 184 rural campuses. By March 2027, 312 more classrooms and 118 girls’ lavatory blocks should be completed.
Now, if we look at the Financial Regularisation, prior to the 2019 ban on Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu & Kashmir, FAT institutions were dependent on donations from the community, waqf profits, and orchard income; however, these sources were legally restricted. By switching to state funding, annual fee increases and salary disbursement uncertainty, which were problems in several campuses during previous winters, are eliminated.
There will be a new Monitoring Mechanism where along with the principal and zonal education officer, two parent representatives chosen by PTAs are part of the recently established School Management and Development Committees. The divisional commissioner level has implemented monthly review meetings to monitor academic performance and infrastructure delivery.
So in other words, the excellence that these institutes provided is not being shut down but rather nationalised. The upgrades that the government is providing to these institutes would have taken the private sector decades to achieve.
People of Kashmir have expressed mixed opinions about this change. Some say that they liked the old school because the maulvi sahib taught honesty along with algebra, but they also like that now their daughter will get a sports teacher and a computer lab. As a Kashmiri who has seen schools burn, reopen, shut again, and now change hands once more, I think education here has survived worse storms and all I can do is be hopeful that this change is going to be for the best, that kids will get the modern education they deserve to survive in this advancing world.
As winter approaches and the Valley prepares for snow, the real test will be in implementation. Will the government provide these seized schools with sufficient funding? Will there be no ideological litmus tests when rehiring teachers? Well, we are hopeful that this will not become another forgotten promise. Also, this is not the first time that these institutes were banned, during the height of militancy in 1990, Governor Jagmohan abruptly closed all FAT schools. The Supreme Court ordered their reopening and the reinstatement of 4,000 teachers seven years later. In between, the Valley lost a whole generation of scholars. No one wants that to happen again. This is why the government is making sure that students do not suffer academically.
So instead of turning the classrooms into battlegrounds, we should let the children study. Let the teachers teach. And let us judge the policy not by the noise it made on Day One, but by the quiet it brings to a child’s future. And when the first post-takeover results are announced next spring, it will be clear whether the model improves equitable access to high-quality education or modifies long-standing educational traditions.
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