‘Teachers, Students Hit’: Why Has J&K Administration Banned FAT-Run Schools?

On 14 June, the administration ordered a ban on all schools run by the ‘Falah-e-Aam’ trust.

A recent order says all academic activities in schools across Jammu & Kashmir run by the ‘Falah-e-Aam’ Trust shall cease immediately.

(Photo: Aasim Bhat)

Zaheer Ahmed,16, (name changed) a class 10 student from a Falah-e-Aam Trust (FAT)-affiliated school in Srinagar, lost his father three years ago due to blood cancer. He was on the brink of quitting school due to financial constraints at home. But a teacher, Yousuf Mugloo (name changed), 38, who has been teaching in one of the FAT schools in Srinagar, motivated Zaheer Ahmed to continue studying and enrol at an FAT-run school, where no fee would be charged.

Yousuf says that their school in Srinagar has around 500 students. Of them, around 110 are orphans, and some belong to poorer sections of society. “The Falah-e-Aam Trust-affiliated schools are imparting free education to these students,” he says.

On 14 June, the Jammu and Kashmir administration issued a notice ordering the cessation of academic activities in all schools run by the FAT. This created a massive uproar in Kashmir. The Trust is considered a wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, an outlawed organisation.

A Falah-E-Aam institution.

(Photo: Aasim Bhat)

'No Plan for Teachers'

The order was issued by BK Singh, Principal Secretary, School Education Department. It said that all academic activities in schools across Jammu & Kashmir run by the FAT shall cease immediately.

Singh directed Chief Education Officers (CEOs) to seal all FAT institutions in consultation with the district administration within the next 15 days.

“All the students presently studying in these banned institutions shall admit themselves to nearby government schools for the current academic session, ie, 2021-22. All CEOs/Principals/CEOs shall facilitate the admission of these students,” the order stated.

Yousuf adds that the order is devastating for teachers who are affiliated with the Trust. No doubt, students can be admitted to nearby schools, but the authorities have no plans for the teachers. “The order snatches the livelihood of thousands of teachers,” says Yousuf.

The order came after an investigation by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which exposed serious violations, outright fraud, and extensive FAT encroachment of public lands. The Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamic organisation that was outlawed in February 2019, led to the arrest, imprisonment, summons, and interrogation of hundreds of its key members, activists, and sympathisers. The FAT was founded in 1972 and is said to be connected to this group.

The SIA reportedly found that all FAT schools, numbering over 300, were constructed on illegally acquired public and private property. The land was occupied through coercion and cooperation with revenue officials, who engaged in fraud and forgery by altering revenue documents.

Citing a 1990 ban order, the order further reads that no new admission should be undertaken for these “banned” FAT institutions, and no further registration of these schools would be done.

Why Was a Ban Ordered in 1990?

The chairman of the FAT, Showkat Ahmed Var, however, issued a statement to counter the government’s order and termed the ban “unjustified”, adding that the Trust is not part of the banned Jamaat-e- Islami and only manages the seven schools that are still associated with it. The Trust was banned by the then-administration in 1990.

However, Trust officials claimed that after 1990, a majority of schools ended their affiliation with the FAT, leaving only 18 institutions. Of them, 11 either ceased their operations or were de-affiliated with the Trust.

After this order, there was alarm and confusion regarding the number of institutions that may get impacted. The decision has left many parents, teachers and students worried.

Apni Party President Syed Altaf Bukhari says the ban will not only ruin the academic growth of thousands of students but will also leave hundreds of families of school staff members worried.

GN Var, president of the Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir (PSAJK), said in these schools, many orphans are being taught free of cost. “The government is snatching the educational rights of these children. Every child has a right to study in the school they want. They are taking away their rights, which is a violation of Article 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution,” Var added.

Findings From a Research

In 2014, two PhD researchers, who wished not to be named, carried out extensive research on FAT academic activities. They found that the total number of students studying in these schools is 75,313, with 33,102 girls and 42,211 boys; of them, there are more than 5,000 orphans, and 4,000 students are being given free education. They are also being given monetary assistance. There are around 403 non-Muslim students who are enrolled mostly in the Jammu division, the research says.

The SIA claims that these institutions are involved in radicalising the youth.

Earlier, there was speculation that the order might be implemented for hundreds of schools. But a few days later, a report was published in a local daily, quoting an unnamed official that only 1,915 students are affected by the cessation of academic activities in FAT-owned schools and not 70,000, as is being said by some political parties. “The affected students will also be shifted to nearby government schools in a mission-mode programme,” the official said.

The daily quoted the unnamed official saying that further decisions regarding other similar schools would be taken after considering all factors.

(Photo: Aasim Bhat)

'Completed 50% of Board Syllabus'

Zaheer Ahmed says most of the students in FAT schools have completed 50℅ of the Board-prescribed syllabus. “We have completed the mid-term examination, too, and we are now preparing for the annual class 10 examination. How can we go to another school when the mid-term examination is already completed. This order is affecting our academic activities.”

Nazir Ahmed, 32 (name changed), a former student of one of the FAT-affiliated schools in Srinagar, says that the growth of thousands of students and teachers has been badly hit. “I believe this order may increase the dropout rate,” he adds.

Why Was the Trust Set Up?

The FAT was set up by Jamat-e-Islami in 1972 to promote education. The Trust used to run over 300 schools in Kashmir and parts of the Jammu region. The schools, which followed the NCERT syllabus, helped children attain education, especially in rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

After the ban, the Trust handed over most of its schools to mohalla and village management committees. An official of the Trust said that less than two dozen schools are under its direct control now. Around 1990, around 11,000 children were enrolled in schools administered by FAT. According to rough figures, the number of schools has grown to around 350, with approximately 11,000 students and nearly 5,000 teachers over the years.

The order comes more than three years after Jamaat-e-Islami was banned in 2019 by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, on charges that it aided militancy in Kashmir. The order on FAT schools, however, comes in the wake of the previous ban on the Jamaat-e- Islami on 11 May 1990, when insurgency peaked in the region.

Only seven schools continued their affiliation with the Trust after FAT approached the Hon’ble High Court in 1990 with a writ petition submitted by Supreme Court attorney KK Venugopal, according to the statement.

The chairman of the FAT stated that the Trust schools educate their students as per the JKBOSE-recommended and government-authorised curriculum.

Showkat Ahmed says they set up the Trust with the purpose of reducing the illiteracy rate in Kashmir. In the 1990s, the education sector was severely affected. “It was the Trust that played a pivotal role in imparting education to children.” He says that not only Muslim students are studying in these schools, but many Hindu teachers also teach in FAT-affiliated schools.

The government claims that the FAT association and organisation are still operating these institutions illegally under the guise of a High Court order. But Showkat Ahmed questions how the authorities can issue another order by shutting down the schools when a case is pending in the High Court.

Teachers' Livelihoods at Stake

“I am a teacher at a Falah-e-Aam Trust affiliated school in Srinagar. Besides teaching, I have been preparing for my PhD for the last two years. I haven't got my salary since the last two months. The Trust is going from bad to worse due to financial constraints, but they continue imparting education to the poorer sections of society,” says Yousuf.

On 23 June, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) of central Kashmir's Budgam district also issued an order asking the heads of such private schools of the district operating on state/kahcharai land to cease the schooling of the enrolled children with immediate effect and provide school-leaving certificates to their students so that they can be accommodated in nearby government schools.

The Education Department has said that these students will be enrolled in government schools subject to the consent of their parents.

Govt Schools are Already Riddled With Problems

Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti called the ban “another type of brutality” inflicted on the local populace to “wreck” their future.

“Move to ban FAT affiliated schools is another form of atrocity inflicted on people of J&K to sabotage their future. After land ownership, resources & jobs the last target is education. I am sure Kashmiris will overcome this & not let their children suffer,” Mufti said on Twitter.

Bukhari said amid staffing shortages and infrastructure gaps, students in government schools are already experiencing severe difficulties. Moving a load of FAT pupils to government schools would only exacerbate existing issues, he says.

(Irshad Hussain and Mubashir Naik are independent journalists based in Jammu and Kashmir. Irshad Hussain tweets at @Irshad55hussain and Mubashir Naik tweets at @sule_khaak.)