J&K private schools’ body moves SC for 4G Internet

The Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking restoration of 4G mobile Internet services.

“The children of Jammu and Kashmir have already lost two academic years because it is impossible to conduct online classes using video-conferencing tools such as Zoom or WebEx at 2G mobile Internet speed,” the petition said.

Schools saw prolonged closures after August 5, 2019 and then on account of COVID-19 pandemic.

“The severe impact of school closures and the inability to shift to remote learning was recognised by the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education, which reduced the syllabus by 40% for annual examinations last year for Class 10, 11 and 12. However, no such concessions are available for students appearing for national level competitive exams,” it said.

The petition claimed that due to the Internet restrictions, many students have been forced to leave their families and live outside Jammu and Kashmir to prepare for competitive exams. “Those without such privilege are left to compete with students from the rest of country on an unequal field,” a spokesman of the association said.

According to the association, which represents over 3,800 schools, the denial of access to education has taken a toll on the mental health of children. “We hope the court will restore 4G mobile Internet access to protect the future of our students,” the association spokesman said.