J-K Minister Sakina Itoo slams Mehbooba Mufti over remarks on FAT schools' takeover

Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 24 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Sakina Itoo lambasted PDP President Mehbooba Mufti over her remarks questioning the government's decision to take over management of schools run by Falah-e-Aam Trust (FAT).
Speaking to ANI, slamming the PDP for criticising the move, Itoo stated that they should not play with the careers of the students.
"This confusion is being created in the public that the FAT schools have been banned by the government. I feel ashamed of those who call themselves educated. They should first see the condition of these schools after 2019. There is no registration, no management committee, and the same people were in the government then. They ran the government here. Don't play with the career of students," the Education Minister said.
On Saturday, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti questioned the timing of the government's move to take over the management of 215 schools affiliated with the banned Jamat-e-Islami (JeI) and FAT.
"Why are they [J&K government] taking over them [management of schools affiliated with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami]? For the past eight years, there has been no takeover, so why today, when a popular government has been elected? They are playing with the sentiments of people, education system. This is not right," Mufti told ANI.
According to the government order, the Managing Committee of the 215 schools will be taken over by the District Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner concerned, who will propose a fresh Managing Committee in due course after getting the schools duly verified.
The decision comes as the validity of the Managing Committee of these 215 schools has expired and has been reported adversely upon by the Intelligence Agencies, the order said. With an aim to safeguard the academic future of the students enrolled in these schools, the government has made the decision in exercise of the powers conferred by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir through the Jammu and Kashmir School Education Rules 2010.
The order asks the District Magistrate and Deputy Commissioner to take appropriate steps in consultation and coordination with the School Education Department to ensure that the academic career of the students enrolled in these schools is not affected in any manner.
They are also required to ensure quality education as per the National Education Policy (NEP) norms in these schools.
However, Jammu Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) leader and MLA Reyaz Ahmad Khan said that the order does not align with the government's "intention" as the Education Minister Sakina Itoo earlier said that principals of the nearby schools would run these schools.
"In this, the government's intention is something else, and the order says something else. The education minister (Sakina Itoo) herself has clarified in one of her social media messages that her proposal was that the administration of these schools would be run by the nearby principals until their verification. But the government's order regarding this has come. The government is looking into it," the JKNC leader told ANI. (ANI)