Srinagar, Aug 24: Soon after the School Education department ordered taking over of 215 schools affiliated with the banned outfit Jamaat-i-Islami (JeI) and Falah-i-Aam Trust (FAT), minister Sakina Itoo responded by saying she had not asked the deputy commissioners to take control of the school.
The minister said she had suggested in her order that these schools be looked after by the principals of the nearby government schools for three months since their management committee had expired.
She said around 221 schools were given negative verification by the CID, while the management committee of these schools had also expired a long ago. “These schools were facing issues in registration and the future of over 51,000 students was at stake. So, I had mentioned in my order that these school be looked after by the principals of the nearest government schools,” she said.
Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir School Education department ordered taking over of 215 Jamaat and FAT affiliated schools, asking deputy commissioners to control of management of these schools. The Centre had last year banned Jamaat-i-Islami, a politico-religious outfit in Jammu and Kashmir, for a period of fiver years over its alleged terror links.
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The minister said she had ordered that until these schools get new registration and managing bodies, principals of the nearest government schools will look after these schools for three months. “I had even approved the list of principals who were supposed to look after these schools,” she claimed.
She said she has not directed or ordered Deputy Commissioners (DC’s) to take over these schools. “The secretary has wrongly mentioned in the order that these schools be taken over the deputy commissioners. The order that has been issued is not exactly what I had written,” she said.
Meanwhile, People’s Conference chairman and MLA Handwara Sajad Gani Lone trained his guns on the Omar Abdullah led government, saying the schools have forcibly taken over by the government and that the elected government is a party to all acts undertaken.
“The elected government has passed the order. Shame and shamelessness have assumed new meanings in this government. They are setting new standards in servility. And just to recall the sermons the edicts that this party passed against their opponents. Be under no illusions. This elected government is a party to all acts undertaken. Be it mailings or termination of employees, they are equal partners.
They have been equal partners in the past. And they will be equal partners in the future.
This is the A team. This was always the A team,” he said in a post on X. (KNO)
