After feedback from parents school timing likely to be reviewed: Sakina Itoo

Baramulla: Education Minister, Sakina Itoo on Wednesday said the decision regarding change in school timing post summer break is likely to be reviewed in view of the weather forecast and feedback from parents.
Speaking to reporters in Baramulla, Sakina Itoo acknowledged the inconvenience caused but defended the initial decision, citing extreme heat as the primary reason.
“We are grateful as we had all been praying for rain for a long time. The heatwave had reached a level that, I believe, Kashmir has rarely experienced before. Thankfully the weather has changed significantly,” she said.
She added the early morning schedule was implemented purely to protect students from heat-related discomfort while ensuring their academic calendar remains unaffected.
“Our intention was to ensure that their education does not suffer. Since the academic session has already been changed, we wanted to minimise further disruption,” she noted.
She also said in view of the improvement in weather and the public feedback, the government is open to reconsidering the school timing.
“We will do whatever we can to ensure students’ learning continues without interruption and with comfort,” she said. (KNO)
The minister also said that the shortage of doctors in remote areas is a legacy issue, not a recent failure, which can be fixed overnight.
Sakina Itoo said the shortage of doctors is something that has been inherited.
“You can’t expect things to be fixed in one year when for six years there were no doctors, no medical staff and no proper infrastructure. These problems take time to resolve,” she said.
She said under the leadership of Omar Abdullah, the current administration has taken steps to address the crisis, particularly by strengthening human resources in the health sector.
“We issued 309 appointment orders to degree-holders to serve in remote and underserved areas. Recently, another 111 appointments were made to further bridge the gap in healthcare delivery”.
On specialist recruitment, the minister highlighted that consultant-level appointments through the Services Selection Board (SSB) have also progressed and efforts are underway to deploy them effectively.
She admitted that despite upgrades in infrastructure, new post creations and essential facilities like equipment, medical assistants, and support staff have lagged. “Buildings were constructed quickly, but they lack basic medical equipment and manpower. We need to consolidate these efforts now.”
She appealed to all stakeholders to work together for systemic improvement. “We need support from everyone – the media, the public and all departments, to strengthen healthcare delivery. The administration remains committed to bringing lasting change,” she added. (KNO)