Srinagar: The schools in the Valley are all set to open on March 1 after more than two-month-long winter break and a lengthy closure due to the unrest last year.Officials of the Education Department said the colleges across the Valley opened today but the government and private schools were set to reopen on March 1.The schools in the Valley had closed for two and a half months on December 17 and the colleges closed for the winter vacation on December 26. In the backdrop of the unrest last year, the students have lost five months of their precious academic year.Following the death of militant commander Hizbul Mujahideen Burhan Wani last year, the schools in the Valley were shut in July. After that the schools opened for the first time on November 20 when the separatists provided two-day relaxation. Before the closure of schools for the winter break, the schools could open only for a few days.To compensate for the academic loss, the National Institute of Technology, University of Kashmir and the Islamic University of Science and Technology cancelled the winter vacation this year and continued with regular classes.As last year was difficult for the education sector, the government gave mass promotion to students from Classes V-IX to save their academic year.Teachers in all schools joined their duties from today to make arrangements for the opening of schools.The government had also started 800 winter schools across the Valley to provide free of cost coaching to the students. More than one lakh students attended the coaching classes. Besides, the government had started Chief Minister’s ‘Super 50’ that is providing free coaching to the students for national competitive exams such as the National Entrance Examination Test. (TNS)
