Destroying institutions in a Kashmiri way?

inam ul rehman

On January 08, 2020, I came across a news story in one of the fledgling English newspaper, Kashmir Reader, on the Global Educational Trust, Mumbai, run schools in Kashmir. The story (“Mumbai based school closes 2 branches in Srinagar, career of hundreds of students in quandary”) was a case of lazy journalism in which the contending party’s view was not sort, or wilfully ignored.   

In the said story the reporter quoting the “parent association” writes that the GET closed two school branches at Iqra International School, Habak, and Bagh-i-Mehtab, adding that it “hiked fee”, increased the “prices of books by 40 percent”, the GET management wants to “layoff some staff members at the two branches”; “staff barred to enter the premises”, and the “salary of staff members is withheld for several months”

The fact is that my kids are studying there from the past six years. I looked at the fee card which says that no fee was hiked for the past three years. Plus the school gives concession to siblings, destitute ones, and in case there is any disturbance like the 2014 floods, 2016 agitation, et al, it waives off half of the annual fee. Even from this year the school has waived off any admission fee, and started free winter classes for its students. The other assertion that the prices of the books were hiked to 40 percent is gibberish. The school administration brought the rates of books down to 50 percent as compared to the past practise. As far as withholding of the salary is considered only the salary of the ex-principal has been withheld, as the latter admitted during the parents meet that he organised. To lay off staff is not unique in anyway. It happens in every other organisation. It is always advantageous to have better paid teachers than having more teachers with peanut salaries.

How, and who started it?

It started with a notice appearing in an English newspaper on December 28, 2019, informing people that two branches of the GET affiliated schools will “remain closed till further notice due to the uncertainties created by the members of the GET and their associates”. But the fact is that the school was never closed by the GET. The school was open, and remains so.

A day later another notice is issued in which parents are requested to come and discuss “issues” of the school. Apparently the meeting was called in to inform parents about “various issues and their solutions”. The meeting was held on December 31, at the Iqra International School branch premises of Bagh-i-Mehtab. The same school that was declared closed! The same school which according to the story of the reporter barred staff members to enter its premises!  On attending the meeting parents were given a shabbily and contradictory pamphlet titled “issues and its solutions”. Then a preacher of Ahle Hadith school of thought preached for 30 minutes without anything substantial with regard to the school issues. Since he was a member of managing committee of the school, and acted as the head of its body there, one thought he would put forward the “issues and its solutions”. In the fallacy of issues and solutions what he talked in between his preaching were administrative things that the GET wanted, which principal along with other managing committee members were reluctant to do. The managing committee members, all supporters of the deposed principal, then begin to sermonise. They told everyone present in the meeting that they admitted their wards in the GET branches not because of anything but because of the principal! 

The ex-principal, who had purportedly put notification in media with regard to closure of the school branches and holding of meeting, was asked by the managing committee to explain things. In a monologue of 35 minutes the ex-principal “revealed” many things but failed to discuss issues and its solutions. He said that the GET members are also doing their business while running the school, and as such have no time for the school! A ludicrous allegation, to mention just one. The deposed principal, a doctor in training, himself does business of diapers.

A few parents asked the new administrator to respond. He in a measured sentences responded to allegations levelled at the Trust, but was heckled by the managing committee members. He kept himself composed, and said: if someone has admitted his child because of one person they are free to take any decision, but if anyone is thinking that this school will be closed he should come out of this delusion. This school belongs to the GET, and it will remain so.

Many parents were left confused why they have been called on such a trivial administrative issue. Administrative issue of one administrator being sacked and replaced by the other is a normal thing. But normal is a word which we Kashmiris don’t understand.

A few days later, after the meeting, notification comes in media that a parent association has been formed which will look after the two GET branches in Kashmir! A day later another notice comes in which the self-styled parent association argues that they have resolved that the private school association of Kashmir should nominate educational experts to take over the management of the school!

In Kashmir a failure is commonly blamed on external factors because hardly any one is ready to own the responsibility of it. The fear of failure does not make anyone to achieve great things. Kashmir is an example of it. To make a mountain out off a simple administrative issue is the complexity of our character. That is how Muslims ruin institutions. The principal no doubt established branches in Srinagar, and the GET made him guardian here, but it no way makes him indispensable. Five years earlier the same ex-principal was responsible for 90 students leaving the institution in one go. The then parent association blamed him not the GET.   

It would have been better for the deposed principal to give a thanksgiving speech to the staff, a pep talk to students, and notified areas of improvement for the administration rather than creating panic among parents.  It would have been beneficial for him to understand that in institution’s growth lays his greatness whether he remains at the helm or not. Despite lacunae the GET schools in Kashmir are able to do what the grandiose claims of local Islamic schools couldn’t do. Persons go, institutions stay.

Since both the principal and his coterie used Islam effusively to justify themselves, I will use an analogy here for them. When Muhammad bin Qasim conquered a part of Sindh province, which previously many generals failed to capture, his Khalifah then ordered him to be removed from his position. The general obeyed the order of his Khalifah. That is how Muslims of the yore cared for institutions.