Suhail Rather
Bandipora, August 2 – In a widening controversy, the Principal of Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School (GGHSS) Bandipora—who also serves as the Cluster Head for multiple schools in the town—has now reportedly directed Heads of Institutions (HoIs) under his supervision to deny access to ICT labs for vocational students and trainers until separate facilities are arranged under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.
This comes a day after Kashmir Convener reported that the same Principal had blocked access to his own school’s ICT lab for students pursuing Computer Science as a vocational subject, despite the lab being the only facility available for practical work.
Several Vocational Trainers told Kashmir Convener that during a routine inspection on Friday, the Principal told HoIs across his cluster, “I am not allowing my ICT lab to be used by outsiders,” allegedly referring to vocational students and trainers as outsiders in a derogatory manner. Multiple staff members confirmed that he discouraged the use of existing ICT labs by Vocational Trainers (VTs), suggesting instead that they “arrange their own labs” and “seek additional funding from Samagra Shiksha.”
Cluster Heads in Jammu and Kashmir are typically principals of Higher Secondary Schools, entrusted with monitoring the functioning of several high and middle schools in their catchment areas. Their decisions and directives carry substantial influence.
However, teachers and VTs now fear that such cluster-wide discouragement could derail the Union Government’s flagship push to integrate vocational education into mainstream schooling under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, especially when no guidelines prohibit shared lab use for vocational training.
“This Principal is going against both the letter and spirit of the NEP 2020,” said a Vocational Trainer from one of the affected schools. “These labs are meant to be shared infrastructure. Blocking access and calling students ‘outsiders’ is not only discriminatory; it’s damaging for students’ skill development.”
In the previous report, Kashmir Convener had highlighted how the Principal of GGHSS Bandipora allegedly discouraged the teaching of both vocational subjects and the Kashmiri language, fearing they would negatively affect the school’s academic results and his personal performance review.
Students and parents claimed that Computer Science practical sessions had been halted, jeopardizing the learning outcomes of Class 11 and 12 students enrolled in the vocational track.
Chief Education Officer (CEO) Bandipora had acknowledged the complaints and assured action, stating: “The matter has come to our notice and will be looked into seriously. If there is any obstruction in the implementation of Samagra Shiksha components, necessary steps will be taken to resolve it.”
Following Friday’s cluster directive, Vocational Trainers across Bandipora have voiced alarm over what they call an “open campaign against vocational education.” They are appealing to Director Samagra Shiksha J&K, Director School Education Kashmir, and Education Minister Sakeena Itoo for immediate clarification and intervention.
“This is not an isolated case of misunderstanding,” said a senior academic. “It’s a case of active resistance to policy implementation and could spread to other clusters if unchecked.”
The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan—a centrally sponsored scheme—explicitly promotes the integration of vocational training from Class 6 onwards, with shared infrastructure usage a key component in schools where dedicated labs are not available.
The move aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which mandates practical skill-based education to improve employability and bridge the gap between schooling and workforce readiness.
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