Exposure –cum-Study Tour for the Teachers of Jammu and Kashmir, 3 -18 February 2010, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi...

A Study Tour for the Teachers of Jammu and Kashmir 3-19 February 2010 Education has a vital role to play in establishing lasting and sustainable peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir and school teachers are the prime  agents of change.  But they need support, training, knowledge up gradation and exposure to socio-cultural and educational trends prevalent in other states of the country. Therefore, teachers of Jammu and Kashmir must have opportunities to interact with their counterparts in other states, familiarize themselves with the new tools and techniques used elsewhere and to broaden their horizons and world views so as to become more effective change-agents.  It is in this context the Institute of Social Sciences( ISS), New Delhi organized an exposure-cum- study tour  for secondary and senior secondary school teachers from Jammu and Kashmir to certain states where they  learnt from the experiences of fellow teachers and academic institutions. This programme was organized by the Institute of Social Sciences. In this endeavor, the Global Green Peace (GGP), Kashmir was the collaborating local NGO from Jammu and Kashmir.  More than 80 teachers from Upper Middle and High Schools  of  selected districts of the state (Baramullah, Kupwara, Pulwama, Poonch and Srinagar) covered four states (Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan and  Uttar Pradesh) and   six    cities ( Amritsar, Chandigarh,New Delhi, Jaipur, Ajmer and  Agra). The teachers were drawn from various areas of the districts mentioned through a selection process. Efforts were made to ensure that those teachers who had had no exposure to urban life and those who had not much scope for migration were selected so that they could continue in their respective areas and make a lasting impact on the minds of students and parents about peace, public safety, national security, national integrity etc. Programme Schedule The journey began from Srinagar on 3 February2010 and concluded on 19 February. During their 17-day- tour, school teachers visited different schools, historical places, met up officials in educational sectors and major education research organizations. An effort was made to cover wide variety of educational institutions- schools run by different communities like Khalsa School, Digambar Jain school, public schools, panchayat school, government schools, private schools, and pre-primary to senior secondary schools. Simultaneously, opportunities were provided to them to interact with all sections of society including doctors, businessmen, social activists, academics, educational experts and  political leaders. Teachers were also introduced to the rich cultural diversity and heritage of the country. Cultural shows were organised in the schools. The tour concluded on 17 February 2010 at Abdul Nazir Saab Auditorium, ISS, New Delhi.Dr. George Mathew in his   address expressed his gratitude to all the teachers, to the various organizations and individuals who supported the programme. Mr. Syed Ishrat, President GGP expressed his views on the occasion. He earnestly hoped that the Institute would continue to awaken the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity by organizing such programmes in the future. Dr Farooq Abdullah, Honourable Minister for Renewable Energy was the Chief Guest in the valedictory session. He strongly stated that ignorance and lack of quality education, lack of well trained teachers in Jammu and Kashmir and lack of technology and infrastructure development are the basic factors of growing militancy.  In his inspiring speech he motivated the teachers to stand up and fight militancy by giving good education to the new generation. He distributed certificates to all the participants. Two senior officials from the Directorate of Central Reserve Police Force, New Delhi also graced the occasion