Srinagar, Sep 18: Advisor to Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani on Thursday said that rural schools were facing an acute dearth of teachers despite having encouraging enrolment, while the government was focused on strengthening the availability of teaching staff in these educational institutions.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of Green Valley Model United Nations (GVMUN)-2026, Nasir Aslam Wani said the government was looking to strengthen teacher availability, particularly in schools where there was a shortage of teachers.
“There are very few teachers in the rural schools. We want to increase the strength of teachers so that children can get proper education,” he said.
He said the government would not allow teachers to remain posted permanently in either urban or rural areas, saying that postings would be made through a rotation system.
“Everyone will have to go to rural areas and in the city as well. It is not that everyone who is posted in city school will remain posted there for a lifetime and those who are posted in the village schools will continue there permanently. By rotation, they will go to all places,” Wani said.
About filling vacant positions of teachers in the School Education Department, he said the posts would be filled through Samagra Shiksha and the recruitment process.
“We are working on it. The posts will be filled,” he added.
Earlier, in his address as chief guest at GVMUN, Wani talked about the changing relationship between teachers and students and recalled a time when teachers commanded greater authority and respect.
He said there was a “huge difference” between the education system of his time and that of today, when students were more willing to question teachers, parents and others in society.
“In today’s world, there is very little room for questioning. Teacher’s word was the last word when we were students. But today, students are different. They question everything and everybody,” he said.
He said educators and society must be prepared to provide answers to their questions.
“During our times, if teachers would beat us, we would never dare to complain about it at our homes, knowing that our parents would trust our teachers more than us (children). But these days the situation is altogether different,” he added.
Referring to the confidence displayed by students participating in the GVMUN event, Wani said the present generation had greater exposure and confidence compared to students of his time.
He said education should not remain confined to books and academics, stressing the need to provide students opportunities in sports, extracurricular activities and skill development.
“We should not only educate them, but also make them unemployed. We should have children who are skilled for the job market, so that when they graduate from school, they can easily get employment,” he said.
Wani called for encouraging students to acquire skills early in their education so that they are equipped for employment after graduation.
He also called for greater awareness among students about social challenges, particularly drug abuse, and said children needed to be mentally prepared to deal with the pressures of contemporary life.
“We should prepare them for the problems of today. We should prepare their minds for the materialistic world we live in,” he said.
Wani said the government would work towards increasing investment in children and creating more opportunities for them.
On concerns raised by the school sector regarding regulations, Wani said steps were Being Taken To Ease The Process Of Doing Business For Schools.
“School registration would now be valid for five years and several No Objection Certificates would be covered through self-certification,” he said.
