Climatic conditions have determinant role in shaping the life style of the people of a society. With the onset of winters in Kashmir, visible changes begin to take place in Kashmir society. Its impact on family, economy, education, state and even on religion is quite visible and challenging. Keeping other institutions of our society aside, there is an interesting relationship between winters and education as an institution in Kashmir society. For education, winter in Kashmir means closure of educational institutions. This closure of educational institutions in winters is as old as formal institutions of education in Kashmir. The closing time period in winters for educational institutions varies from elementary, secondary to higher education level. Perhaps this difference is because of age of the children/students at different levels.
However, the way these vacations are used now is quite different from the past. In past, vacations really used to suffice the purpose behind them. Students used to enjoy these vacations by studying within their homes or nearby neighbourhood. Now, students have to spend most of their time in coaching centers, away from their residences in winter vacations. This way, winter vacations make winter harsher for student community. The mushroom growth of coaching centers in winter vacations has number of economic and psycho-social repercussions for the student community in particular and society in general.
With passing, half of the November month every year, winter vacation as a phrase becomes a point of discussion in the educational institutions. Teachers and students begin to predict about the announcement dates of winter vacations. Every year they hope, they plan about spending rather enjoying the winter vacations. In the mean time, there are people, whom you may call opportunists, emerging educational capitalists or may be educationists, who eagerly wait for closing the doors of schools and adorn the doors of their coaching centres. During the time of closing the doors of schools and opening of coaching centres, they invade every possible place both private and public by posters, banners and hoardings etc. Even in month of October, the students implicated in annual examinations, in advance are greeted for new classes with the posters of coaching centres at the examination centers. The advertisements of these coaching centers also find good space in the daily news papers. Interestingly, most listened radio programme Shehar-Been too have been engulfed by the advertisements of these coaching centres.
With the announcement of winter vacations, for students one door gets closed (school) and thousand doors get opened (coaching centers). From every corner they are being welcomed towards these newly opened doors. It is very difficult for a person to decide, where should he/she go, when he/she is being called from everywhere. Students too find it very difficult to decide, which door suits him/her best. At times, deciding among the choices becomes a situation of chaos and confusion for the students as well as parents. The same situation gets repeated every year in winter vacations. Finally after, spending number of days in many centers, he/she selects the coaching center with the consultations of parents, friends and analysing other parameters as well. After selecting a coaching center and attending the classes, most of the students confront the overcrowded classes with shrunken spaces, thorny timings with meagre or no heating arrangements.There are cases, where a single teacher teaches at more than one coaching centre. They cannot expand the day; they just manage at the cost of rights of the children. Most of these coaching centers kept the starting time 9:30 am to 10:30 am, in the chilly winters, which violates the government time scheduling for schools.
From the month of November, government changes the official timing of the schools to 11:00 am to make ease for the students. In March, the timing of these centers changes revolutionary, 6:30 am in mornings and after 5:00 pm in evenings. As most of the teachers teaching in these centers are Government teachers. They again manage their private and public teaching shifts at the cost of rights of children. To manage the time, most of the centres have cut the lunch break to 10 to 15 minutes from 1 hour. In 10 minutes break, students do not find time to lunch, to refresh. Generally, students take ‘Noon Chai’ in breakfast and run towards these coaching centers. They leave these centers near about 3 to 4 pm and don’t get time for lunch. This time schedule is also opening the way for junk food for the students.
A study based on simple question (why winter vacations in Kashmir) asked to 100 students. The answer of all the respondents was based on common idea that to save the students from the coldness of the winters. So if the purpose of the winter vacations is to save our children from the harshness of the winters. Then what is the fun of closing the schools and opening of the coaching centres functioning without prescribed rules and regulations, without monitoring mechanisms. Every coaching centre functions with self centric approach with its own timing, rules and regulations. The timing of the coaching centres breach the real purpose of the winter vacations and violates the timing, prescribed by government for schools. Attending coaching center in winters has become a norm of the society. This norm is creating hurdles for the poor and creating inequality in education .On comparing the overall facilities of the schools with the coaching centers; schools are much better, disciplined and safe places than these coaching centres. An inspection of 13 coaching centers by Government officials in one of the education zones of district Budgam showed that none of these centers had 25 percent facilities to that of a Government Higher Secondary School. Converting private schools into tuition centres is the recent trend practised by most of the private schools. They don’t allow their students to study at home or anywhere else than their own school centres. This way, they make the students to pay double fees.
To conclude, we are all the stakeholders of our children and their education. We collectively need to think, what is the purpose of winter vacations? Is our system fulfilling that purpose? Is winter vacation meant to create a parallel system of education through CCs and closing our schools? Is not it injustice with the students, especially elementary level to take them out from better places governed by system of rules and regulations into the places governed by individuals at the name of vacations? If we as a society feel that coaching centers are desirable for teaching our students in winters. Then there must be set guidelines, proper monitoring mechanisms, and child-centric infrastructure in these coaching centers.
If the winter vacations have to be utilised the way they are going on, then, schools are better and safe places. Then we need to accept the reality, that the winter belongs to us and we belong to winters, we need to own the winters and upgrade our schools to suit the winters for our student community to save the society from the parallel system of education, which is changing the value of education from ‘ service’ to ‘commodity’.
Author is a School Teacher and can be mailed at dr.naseerwani11@gmail.com
