SRINAGAR: On a chilly December morning, a stream of students make a beeline to a public room that doubles up as a coaching center for the underprivileged in Shehr-e-Khaas.
Just a few steps inside, a cozy classroom with smart screens creates a feel-good factor. Minutes later a teacher enters and warmly greets her students. Before a lecture starts, a student is asked to recite a verse from the holy Quran to enliven the atmosphere.
Welcome to first -of-its-kind coaching center in a sensitive old city where underprivileged students from government schools are provided free education.
Established by Centre for Youth Development, a social organization in Shehr-e-Khaas, the facility provides free tuition to students from Class 8 to 10.
“There are some vulnerable areas in our downtown. There are people who live in abject poverty. Most of their wards study in government schools. We decided to create an enabling atmosphere for these underprivileged students. That is why we started this coaching center,” said Imtiaz R Chasti, Chairman, the Centre for Youth Development (CYD).
In fact, CYD was registered as a trust in 2012. It has been doing a pioneering service in different fields including drug de-addiction. It has been organizing counseling and awareness programmes to keep the youth away from the menace of drugs.
During their door-to-door survey, CYD found that there are students who are very intelligent but do not have the means to pursue their goals. Therefore they decided to start the Coaching Centre where everything will be free.
“We are pooling money from our own pocket. We are not seeking any donations. Our trustees are funding it from their own resources. Our aim is that students from underprivileged families too should have means to compete with others,” said Chasti.
The Coaching Centre caters to students living within two kilometer radius of Gojwara where the CYD office is situated. “We have hired three highly qualified teachers. They have enough experience in teaching,” he said.
What adds a unique dimension to the center is that it also focuses on moral education. “Every class will start with Quran recitation. A student will recite Surah of holy Quran before starting the regular class. Plus there will be separate classes for boys and girls,” said Chasti.
For winter, the classes will be held during the day. When schools will open, the coaching center will remain open in the morning and evening. “We want students to join schools after winter vacation. We will time the coaching center in such a manner that they did not lose their studies at schools,” he said.
Official figures reveal that Jammu and Kashmir has recorded a five percent increase in student enrollment in 2021-22.
A report of Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), the Union Ministry of Education revealed that 142,286 new students have been enrolled in the government and private educational institutes of Jammu and Kashmir.
In 2020-21, the total enrolment was 2576358 from primary classes to 12th standard. The number has increased to 2718644 in 2021-22. In private schools, however, enrollment has declined by more than one percent.
