Akhter vows to change Education Dept fortunes

Amir Karim Tantray

Jammu, March 4

Newly appointed Education Minister Nayeem Akhter today vowed to change the fortunes of his department with the same team of experts, officers and teachers by giving them a free hand to work.

He said he wanted to bring about both an education policy and a transfer policy and then ask the officers concerned to deliver.

Talking to mediapersons at the Civil Secretariat, he admitted that the education system in the state was a shambles and his priority would be to provide quality education at government institutions.

He said bringing the education system back on track was a great challenge. “I cannot do it on my own. I will try to facilitate, regulate and give a free hand to my team to deliver,” he said.

“I do not have to invent anything. Whatever is written in the book will be implemented in letter and spirit. I will make sure that my team will go accordingly and the objective of knowledge is achieved,” he said.

During the previous government, two ministers had been running the Education Department. The Chief Minister combined both and assigned it to Akhter.

The Education Department has more than 1,50,000 employees, much higher than any other department. Output was not up to the mark and the Education Minister admitted it.

He said, “Had we been able to match output, private schools would not have been preferred. We have to look into the system, see loopholes, deficiencies and potentialities and come up with a solution,” he said.

“There are problems at different levels. We have to address those at the academic, administrative and logistical levels,” he added.

The minister categorically said attachments and undue transfers would be a thing of the past and the department would not be a shelter home anymore.

At the same time, he said the female staff would not be moved around unnecessarily. “It will not be special,” Akhter added.

On tie-ups with foreign universities to give a boost to education, he said, “There are a lot of possibilities and we will have to work on those.”

“I think that we need to go beyond routine. My first challenge is that government schools should become attractive for children of all sections of society,” he said.