SRINAGAR, Jan 14 (TNS): Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Syed Altaf Bukhari said on Saturday that the army should concentrate on its own job and not meddle with the state’s education system. The minister’s remark came a day after Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat said the students in the schools of Jammu and Kashmir were being taught two maps, one of India and the other of J&K.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an official function, Bukhari said on Saturday: “Rather than meddling with the education sector, the army should concentrate on its own duty.”
“There are two flags, we have a state constitution (owing to the state’s special status), and maps are in every state. Every school in every state has a state map because you explain it to them,” Bukhari told Hindustan Times. He said separatism would not be anywhere if the army does its job well.
The minister also expressed displeasure, saying that everyone was trying to pass comments on the education sector and this was not acceptable. He said dealing with the education sector should be left to those who were assigned the responsibility to do so. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, ahead of the Army Day, General Rawat said the education system in Jammu and Kashmir needed to be overhauled to check radicalisation, and also called for checks on madrasas and mosques. “Why do we need a separate map for J&K? What does it teach the children? Most misguided youth come from schools where they are being radicalised,” he had said.
